The Civil Guard has arrested three men who were sending dried poppy capsules by mail to the provinces of Málaga, Ávila, and Mallorca, as well as to the United States. They are charged with alleged crimes against public health related to drug trafficking. All three have been remanded in custody.
Royal poppies in postal packages
The operation began with the interception of four postal shipments containing nearly seven kilograms of plant-based substances at Alicante-Elche Airport. Analysis determined the substance to be Papaver somniferum , also known as opium poppy, a plant directly linked to the production of opium and its derivatives.
The same surname appeared in all the shipments, both for the senders and the recipients. Furthermore, it was verified that all the packages had been sent from different addresses, all located in the municipality of Los Alcázares (Murcia).
The detainees were linked to recent thefts in Albacete
In the first phase, investigators analyzed the documentation and contents of the intercepted packages, later traveling to the municipality of Los Alcázares to identify and locate the suspected senders. These efforts led to the identification of three men from the same clan, all born in India.
After consulting police databases, it was verified that these people had allegedly been linked to recent thefts of Papaver somniferum in legal plantations intended for pharmaceutical use located in the province of Albacete.
527 kilograms of Papaver somniferum stored in sacks
At the end of January, once the suspects were located and their alleged involvement in the investigated events was established, three house searches were carried out in Los Alcázares. As a result, the three suspects were arrested and 527 kilos of poppy (Papaver somniferum) were seized .
The detainees were placed at the disposal of the Court of Instruction of the Judicial District of Elche, which ordered the imprisonment of the three.
The operation, named “Guru25”, was carried out thanks to the collaboration of the Fiscal and Border Analysis and Investigation Unit of the Civil Guard, the Organized Crime and Anti-Drug Team of the Civil Guard in Alicante and the Civil Guard Company of Torre Pacheco.