The Second Section of the Criminal Chamber of the National Court has sentenced a couple who were arrested at the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife while transporting 45 kilograms of hashish hidden in their car. This sentence is part of an operation against a network that was dedicated to introducing and selling hashish and cocaine in the islands, for which 8 other people have already been convicted.
The sentence considers the man "responsible author" of a crime against public health and sentences him to 3 years and one day in prison, in addition to paying a fine of 100,000 euros. In the case of his partner, the court considers that she was limited to "assisting" her partner "accompanying him on the trip", so her sentence is less, 1 year and 6 months in prison, as well as paying a fine of 100,000 euros. For both, "a month of subsidiary responsibility in case of non-payment" is established, which would imply an increase of one month of prison in their respective sentences if they did not face the payment of the fine established in the sentence.
The events that the Court considers proven took place on April 24, 2010, when these two people residing in San Bartolomé, in Lanzarote, were arrested at the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The couple boarded a ferry from Lanzarote to Tenerife in a Chrysler Voyager vehicle in which they were transporting 44.7 kilograms of hashish. The drug, divided into 195 tablets, was hidden in "the upholstery of the two front doors and the wheel covers" and its sale "could have obtained an economic benefit of 64,804 euros", the sentence states.
The couple was arrested as part of an operation against a drug trafficking network, which was being tracked by the Organized Crime and Anti-Drug team of the Civil Guard of Tenerife. Eight members of this network were already convicted last September, with their sentences reaching up to 18 years in prison. In the case of this couple, an independent trial was held, which has now also ended in conviction.
