U.S. Department of State
1996 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, March 1997

United States Department of State

Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

SPAIN

I. Summary

Spain's new Popular Party government introduced a package of narcotics-related measures in January 1997 which builds on laws and recommendations adopted under the previous government. The measures provide new powers to combat drug trafficking, money laundering, and diversion of chemical precursors while extending existing prevention and treatment programs and authorizing new ones.
The measures are based in large part on a report issued in December 1995 by a Bipartisan Special Commission (the Mixed Commission for the Study of the Drug Problem), which proposed an overhaul of drug policy. Some of the new measures will take effect immediately, and some will require approval by the Parliament.

Drug policy is coordinated by the National Plan on Drugs (Plan Nacional Sobre Drogas, or PNSD), which was established within the Ministry of Interior in July 1985. Government policy is to attack the drug problem across a broad front, encompassing prevention, treatment, re-incorporation of formerly addicted persons into society, and interdiction. The PNSD plays a coordinating role, with prevention and treatment activities undertaken by the Ministries of Health and Education, Regional and Local Governments, and NGO's and law enforcement activities by the police, Civil Guard and the Customs.

Spain is a party to the three UN drug conventions including the 1988 UN Convention and is a member of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

II. Status of Country

III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 1996

New drug and organized crime units (Unidades de Droga y Crimen Organizado, or UDYCO), will be formed within the Federal Judicial Police, with sub-units for drug trafficking, money laundering, and organized crime. These units will be deployed to selected areas of the country where the need is greatest. Also, new police units will be created that will resemble the English Bobbies (except that they will be armed) and will patrol selected urban areas either on foot on or motor scooters. Their primary function will be to control drug trafficking on the local level.

Accomplishments. Authorities made 42,216 arrests for trafficking in 1995, and made 44,318 drug seizures, both up sharply from 1994 (31,703 and 28,301 respectively). There were 20,716 arrests for trafficking in cannabis, 13,646 for trafficking in opiates, 5,349 for trafficking in cocaine, and 4,601 for trafficking in other drugs. Authorities seized 243 mt of cannabis in 1996, a 23.35 perent increase from the 197. mt of cannabis seized in 1995, down in turn from 219. mt in 1994. They seized 13.5 mt of cocaine in 1996, a 96.85 percent increase on 1995, when 6.9 mt of cocaine was seized, up in turn from 4.0 mt in 1994. In a January, 1997 seizure labeled by Spanish authorities as the "Operation Star of David," more than 1.5 mt of cocaine was seized in the province of Catalunia, more than double the 600 kgs seized in Cataluna in 1996 and many times the 127 kgs of cocaine seized there in 1995. The seized cocaine was from the Colombian Cali cartel and was trucked into Spain from Germany. In addition to the Colombians, a principal figure in the ring was an Israeli trafficker. Authporities seized 533 kgs of heroin in 1996, a 2.38 percent decrease from the 546 kgs of heroin seized in 1995, down in turn from 824 kgs in 1994. The most dramatic increase in drug seizures has come in the area of MDMA (ecstasy). A total of 739,511 capsules were seized in 1995, up from 306,501 in 1994, a 141 percent increase. This follows a ten percent increase in the number of capsules seized in 1994. As late as 1986, no capsules were seized.

Law Enforcement Efforts. With respect to the countries of the European Union, more cocaine is seized in Spain than in any other. Spain occupies the number two position in cannabis seizures and is number four in cocaine seizures. Spain is a final destination for heroin. Turkish organizations, supported by Iranians, Syrians, and Lebanese dominate the heroin market in Spain. Eighty percent of the heroin that enters Spain comes from the "Balkan Route; the most utilized methods of transportation are tourists and cargo trucks.

With regard to cocaine trafficking, the Iberian Peninsula continues serving as an important entry point for other west European destinations. Due to Spanish interdiction efforts, however, some of this traffic shows signs of being diverted to central Europe. Large shipments of cocaine come by sea, usually in containers, while smaller shipments come by air. Spain is still the principal entry point for Moroccan hashish destined for Europe. Spanish authorities, within the constraints of current laws, have provided USG authorities with valuable cooperation on cases in with a US connection.

Money Laundering. A fund has been created from the seized assets of drug traffickers. The fund is to be managed by the PNSD, and will be used to finance both interdiction efforts on the one hand, and prevention and treatment programs on the other, with the funds divided on a 50/50 basis between the two. In another money laundering initiative, a decree identifies activities particularly susceptible of being used for money laundering and targets them for particular attention. The government seized 400 million pesetas in currency 1996 (about $300,000).

Corruption. There is no evidence of high level governmental corruption related to drugs. The antidrug prosecutor asked in January 1997 for a total of 97 years imprisonment for ten former members of the Central Unit for Antidrug Investigations of the Civil Guard. The ten were arrested in 1992, for actions that began in 1988. The accusations include diverting confiscated drugs for personal use.

Agreements and Treaties. The US has an extradition treaty and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with Spain. Spain is a party to the 1988 UN Convention.

Cultivation/Production. There is no reported cultivation of illegal drugs in Spain. There continue to be instances of local production of synthetic drugs, such as ecstasy.

Drug Flow/Transit. Spain continues to be a major transit point for South American cocaine and North African hashish both entering Spain by sea. There are indications that successful Spanish interdiction efforts have diverted some of the traffic, particularly in the case of Colombian cocaine. Spain is first in the EU in cocaine seizures, second in hashish seizures, and fourth in heroin seizures. Police in Catalunia seized 700 kgs of Colombian cocaine in mid-January 1997. Unlike cocaine and hashish, most of the heroin that enters Spain is consumed in Spain.

Chemical precursors. Spain is not a significant diverter of precursors. Organic Law number 10 of November 23, 1995 updates a 1982 law by putting chemical precursors in the category of contraband, even when the value is less than 3 million pesetas ($23,000). Illicit trafficking in precursors had already been proscribed by the penal code. The January 1997 measures create a general register of chemical precursors which will be kept by the PNSD.

Demand Reduction. Under the terms of Spain's revised basic drug laws, thirty pilot projects in prevention will be set up in certain schools outside school hours, with activities such as sports, art, and workshops. Media campaigns will be carried out, including specially focused ones targeted at youth audiences. Programs will be developed to provide for alternative penalty for addicts, making it possible for them to complete their sentences in accredited detoxification and rehabilitation centers. Programs to distribute methadone will be extended to all penitentiaries. The National Institute of Employment, under the Ministry of Labor will find 5,000 jobs or trainee positions for reformed drug addicts to aid in their reinsertion into society. The government will increase the number of locations distributing methadone and needles. This program began in Madrid in January 1997, with distribution through certain pharmacies. The Spanish Drug Observatory will be formed soon as a permanent organ responsible for gathering information. It will have an Advisory Council consisting of members of social, professional, and scientific groups. The plan also includes measures for international cooperation. The government's plan drew praise from the Spanish Union of Associations for Assisting Drug Addicts, which comprises 274 associations in Spain.

The government's report on the drug situation in Spain states that in 1995 5.8 percent of Spaniards used marijuana, 0.1 percent crack cocaine, 1.5 percent cocaine, 1.1 percent ecstasy, 0.9 percent amphetamines, 0.7 percent hallucinogens, 0.5 percent heroin, and 0.1 percent other opiates.

IV. US Policy Initiatives and Programs

Road Ahead. The USG will maintain close coordination with the government of Spain counternarcotics officials in both the public policy and law enforcement areas. Spain will continue to be a key player in the international fight against trafficker organizations.