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Spain Seizes 527 Kg of Pharmaceutical Poppies, Arrests Three in Postal Trafficking Bust

Airport seizures of postal shipments exposed the trafficking method, with inquiries still open.

Overview

  • Guardia Civil detained three men of Indian nationality in Los Alcázares and a judge ordered their imprisonment on public health charges.
  • Officers recovered 527 kilograms of dried Papaver somniferum capsules during late-January searches of multiple homes.
  • The group diverted poppies from legal pharmaceutical plantations and mailed them to Mallorca, Málaga, Ávila, and the United States.
  • The probe began after four packages totaling nearly seven kilograms were intercepted at Alicante-Elche airport and identified as Papaver somniferum.
  • Codenamed Operation Guru25, the case brought together several Guardia Civil units, and investigators say the operation remains active.