International Drug Trafficking Defense in Marbella

Jurisdiction of the Audiencia Nacional: Article 65.1.d) of the Ley Orgánica del Poder Judicial

Article 65.1.d) of the Ley Orgánica del Poder Judicial (Organic Law of the Judiciary) gives the Juzgados Centrales de Instrucción and the Criminal Chamber of the Audiencia Nacional (Spain's National Court, with jurisdiction over certain serious and cross-territorial offenses) jurisdiction over drug trafficking committed by organized gangs or groups whose effects are felt in places belonging to different Audiencias Provinciales. Case law has clarified that these are two cumulative requirements, not alternative ones:

"...debe existir una organización, grupo o banda, y además los efectos del delito deben proyectarse en lugares pertenecientes a distintas Audiencias."

It is not enough, therefore, that the drugs were physically transported through several provinces, nor that there is potential distribution in different territories: it is necessary to prove both the real existence of the organized structure and the effective, plural impact of the offense across the territory of more than one Audiencia. The dispute over the competent forum is, accordingly, one of the first fronts of our defense in these cases, with a direct bearing on the specialization of the investigating court and on the investigative resources available.

Methods of introduction: by sea, semi-submersibles and containers

Large-scale drug trafficking mainly uses three channels to bring drugs into Spanish territory. The classic maritime route, using high-performance vessels ("narco go-fasts") that carry out transfers on the high seas from mother ships, or semi-submersibles and narco-submarines of artisanal manufacture capable of crossing the Atlantic with several tonnes of cocaine. The method of concealment in legitimate commercial cargo containers — known as the "rip-off" method or "blind hook" — in which the drugs are placed without the knowledge of the legitimate importer or exporter and are removed from the container before customs clearance with the assistance of corrupt port staff. And air transport using human couriers or checked cargo, of smaller volume but whose investigation is frequently connected with the structures described above. Each method calls for different technical analysis of the evidence: geolocation and nautical expert evidence in maritime transport, reports from the Port Authority and the customs chain of custody in the container method, and analysis of flights and travel documentation in air transport.

Boardings on the high seas and extraterritorial jurisdiction

Where the seizure takes place in international waters, Spanish jurisdiction derives from Article 23.4 of the Ley Orgánica del Poder Judicial in connection with Article 108 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and with Article 17 of the 1988 Vienna Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, whose regime requiring authorization from the flag State for boarding, visiting and inspecting the vessel is the first matter our defense scrutinizes: the absence or irregularity of that authorization compromises the lawfulness of the whole of the subsequent action and, by operation of Article 11.1 of the Ley Orgánica del Poder Judicial itself, of the evidence obtained under its protection. The firm has proven experience in proceedings of this nature before the Audiencia Nacional, including the defense in operations seizing vessels carrying cargoes of several tonnes of cocaine.

International cooperation: Europol, controlled deliveries and letters rogatory

The investigation of these schemes is structured, almost invariably, through controlled deliveries coordinated with foreign agencies and with the European Cybercrime Centre and Europol's narcotics units, as well as with maritime analysis centers specialized in tracking Atlantic drug trafficking routes. Our defense subjects to rigorous scrutiny the chain of communications between the various authorities involved — Europol's SIENA channels, Interpol notices and diffusions, letters rogatory under Article 177 of the Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal (Spanish Criminal Procedure Act) — and the incorporation into the proceedings of foreign intelligence information, verifying that its handling respects the handling codes and the guarantees regime of Spanish law, a matter on which recent case law demands particularly strict scrutiny.

Criminal organization, quantities of notorious significance and asset confiscation

Large-scale drug trafficking is almost systematically accompanied by the aggravation under Article 369 bis of the Criminal Code for criminal organization, carrying sentences of up to twelve years' imprisonment, and by the aggravation for quantities of notorious significance under Article 369 of the Criminal Code and for quantities substantially exceeding that threshold under Article 370 of the Criminal Code, the latter carrying a sentence up to two degrees higher. The correct classification of each person under investigation's position within the structure — leader, financier, transporter, escort, mere logistical collaborator — is decisive for the applicable sentence, and is one of the central pillars of our defense. These cases almost inevitably also involve confiscation proceedings over vessels, real estate, vehicles and financial assets, whose proportionality and real connection with the criminal activity we likewise subject to adversarial challenge.