Shipment of illegal ‘poppers’ intercepted in Tenerife
Tenerife authorities have shut down a postal trafficking operation after seizing 240 bottles of popper and placing seven people under investigation. Officers say the drug was disguised as household products and was being brought onto the island to be used as a sexual stimulant at private parties.
The Fiscal and Borders Unit of the Guardia Civil at the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, working alongside Customs Surveillance officers, intercepted seven separate parcels sent from France and Portugal. Each package had been deliberately mislabelled as leather cleaner, air freshener or other everyday items to evade detection.
The first shipment, which arrived in July from Maia (Portugal), contained 24 bottles holding 720 millilitres of the illegal substance. Over the following months, six more parcels arrived from France. The latest delivery was seized earlier this month and contained a staggering 216 bottles with more than 4,800 millilitres inside.
In total, officers confiscated 8,332 millilitres of popper, which is enough to produce 13,886 doses, according to standard adult dosage guidelines. All seven recipients are now being investigated for an alleged offence relating to the trafficking of medicinal products.
The suspects told officers the drug was intended to be offered at private gatherings to enhance sexual practices. They have all been brought before the duty court in San Cristóbal de La Laguna.
Health authorities warn that poppers contain volatile alkyl nitrites that can trigger immediate but short-lived physical effects. Misuse can cause serious and potentially life-threatening reactions, including neurological damage, respiratory depression and methaemoglobinaemia (a dangerous blood disorder).
Despite its recreational reputation, popper is legally regulated in Spain and can only be produced or sold with prior authorisation from the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products. None of the people under investigation held these licences.
Spanish postal law also strictly prohibits the circulation of controlled substances through the mail.
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