Man jailed for trying to smuggle drugs to the Canary Islands inside gas bottles
A man has been sentenced to seven years in prison after being caught attempting to transport several types of drugs to the Canary Islands, hidden inside the double base of two butane gas cylinders.
The man was stopped by Guardia Civil officers in Huelva, Andalusia, as he prepared to board a high-speed ferry at the South Dock in Palos de la Frontera. Authorities did not specify which Canary Island the ferry was bound for, only confirming that the drugs were intended to enter the archipelago by sea.
He had arrived in a van late on the night of 25th October 2024, carrying two gas bottles that had been altered to create concealed compartments. The attempted smuggling operation was uncovered during a routine passenger and vehicle inspection.
Inside the cylinders, officers discovered a wide range of illegal substances, including four grams of heroin, 2.8 kilos of hashish shaped into 200 pellets and eight tablets, 1.3 kilos of an unidentified white powder, 986 grams of crack cocaine, 1.9 kilos of MMDD packaged in 10 bags, 74 diazepam pills and 47 sinogan tablets. Agents also seized a precision scale, small resealable plastic bags and a box of latex gloves, suggesting the drugs were intended for distribution.
The court found that the man knowingly transported toxic, narcotic and psychotropic substances and ruled that the amount seized constituted “notorious importance”, an aggravating factor under Spanish law. Alongside the prison sentence, he has been ordered to pay a fine of €213,162.43, equivalent to the estimated street value of the drugs he attempted to bring into the Islands.
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