Drug trafficking lawyer

In drug-related offences, an incorrect classification at the beginning can shape the entire case. Possession for personal use is not the same as possession with intent to supply. An isolated seizure is not the same as an allegation involving aggravating factors. And a minor case is not the same as an investigation involving organised activity or significant quantities.

That is why, if you are under investigation for drug-related offences, the priority here is clear: to properly structure the case from the very beginning.

If you are under investigation for drug offences, it is essential to distinguish between personal use, possession, and trafficking from the outset

Many criminal drug cases are decided around a basic issue: what specific conduct is being attributed to you and on what basis.
Case law and criminal classification focus on preventing illegal drug use, but not every connection with a substance automatically amounts to trafficking. That is why, in defence work, the first step is to analyse the facts, the substance involved, the quantity, the police intervention, and the alleged intended purpose. The BOE also reflects that, in relation to Article 368 of the Criminal Code, the Supreme Court has emphasised that “illegal consumption” is the reference concept for criminalising actions intended to promote, facilitate, or enable it.

What does Article 368 of the Criminal Code punish?

Article 368 of the Spanish Criminal Code penalises those who cultivate, manufacture, traffic, or otherwise promote, facilitate, or enable the illegal consumption of toxic drugs, narcotics, or psychotropic substances, as well as those who possess them for those purposes. The BOE also establishes that the penalty varies depending on whether the substance causes serious harm to health, with a significantly harsher sentencing range in the latter case.

Practical translation: in these cases, it is not enough to look at “whether drugs were found”. You must analyse what substance it was, the context, the quantity, the alleged purpose, and the available evidence.
 

Organization, aggravating factors and criminal exposure

When the prosecution refers to organisation, network, or a more complex structure, the level of criminal exposure increases significantly.
Article 369 bis of the Criminal Code enhances penalties when the conduct described in Article 368 is carried out by members of a criminal organisation. Article 370 also provides for a sentence increased by one or two degrees in especially serious cases, such as the use of minors, leadership roles within an organisation, or other highly serious conduct.
For this reason, a standard defence is not enough in these cases. It is necessary to review:

• police intervention;
• searches and seizures;
• type of substance;
• quantity;
• context;
• and whether the prosecution is attempting to construct a more serious organisational structure than what actually exists.

How we handle a drug trafficking defence

1. We examine the basis of the accusation
   Not every possession amounts to trafficking. Not every investigation is properly built.
2. We break the case down into facts and evidence
   Substance, quantity, location, police intervention, searches, messages, cash, scales, third parties, and overall context.
3. We assess aggravating factors and exposure
   A simple Article 368 allegation is not the same as a case built around organisation or extreme seriousness.
4. We design the strategy
   Statement strategy, procedural nullities, expert reports, challenges to police evidence, consumption vs. trafficking arguments, and full defence of the proceedings.

What documentation we need

If you already have it, it is useful to gather:

• police report or reference to the investigation file;
• summons or court order;
• search and seizure record, if available;
• confiscation or seizure documentation;
• relevant communications or messages;
• and any document that helps establish the context of the police intervention.

If you don’t have everything, that is not a problem. We will tell you what is missing and what should be reviewed first.

If you are under investigation for drug trafficking, it is better to challenge the foundations of the case from the very beginning

In these proceedings, details matter a lot. If you are under investigation for drug-related offences, we help you review your case with a clear approach: clearly separating facts, evidence, and real criminal exposure.

Request an initial criminal assessment