Criminal Defense Lawyer for Crimes Against Public Health and Drug Offences in Madrid
An arrest at Barajas with a substance, a search of your home, a UDYCO operation: if you are being investigated for a crime against public health (art. 368 CP), what is decided in the first 72 hours shapes the entire case, and pre-trial detention is common. Do not make a statement without a lawyer by your side. We will take the call ourselves. 24-hour line: 681 256 507.
Criminal defense lawyer specialising in crimes against public health in Madrid, available 24 hours
The crime against public health is, in practice, drug trafficking, and almost everything comes down to two things: the classification of the substance and the legality of the evidence used against you. We are criminal defense lawyers in Madrid, specialists in crimes against public health, and we defend those facing drug charges, from small-scale dealing to large-scale trafficking before the National Court. We handle your case ourselves from start to finish, without passing you between lawyers.
Types of crimes against public health we defend in Madrid
These are the types of crimes against public health for which we take on your defense in Madrid. The core is drug trafficking and its aggravated forms, which we cover on their own pages.
The basic offence (art. 368 CP): possession for onward distribution, supply or sale of toxic drugs, narcotics or psychotropic substances. We fight over the quantity, the purity and personal use.
The aggravated subtypes (arts. 369 to 370 CP): notorious quantity, organised crime or extreme gravity, with cases frequently falling under the jurisdiction of the National Court.
Medicines and precursors
Unlicensed or counterfeit medicines and trafficking in chemical precursors, within the same chapter of the Criminal Code.
Adulteration of food
Adulteration of food, beverages or products intended for consumption that may pose a danger to health.
24-hour assistance for crimes against public health
Tel. 681 256 507 · [email protected]
Criminal defense lawyers specialising in crimes against public health in Madrid
In a crime against public health, the outcome is decided during the investigation stage, not at trial: in the evidence and in the classification. This is what we do differently:
We challenge the legality of the evidence first
Most of these cases are built on wiretaps and searches. We review the reasoning behind the orders and their extensions: a well-argued nullity claim can dismantle the bulk of the case.
Independent expert analysis of the substance's purity
We bring in independent expert analysis on the purity and quantity of the substance: this determines whether the case reaches the threshold for the aggravated notorious quantity charge.
We prepare evidence of ties to the community against pre-trial detention
Pre-trial detention is common: we attend the hearing with evidence of ties to the community (job, home, family) and an offer of bail to avoid it.
Proven drug dependency as a defense lever
When dependency is proven, we work with it as a mitigating factor and as a route to a suspended sentence conditional on treatment, not as a rhetorical excuse.
What we do if you're arrested for a crime against public health
If you’re arrested for drugs, the detention can last up to 72 hours before you’re brought before the court, and what you state conditions the whole case. This is what we do for you:
We go to the police station, Barajas or the court.
We travel to the police station, Barajas Airport or the duty court and take on your defense from the very first proceedings.
We speak with you alone.
Before you make any statement, we meet with you privately and decide whether it’s in your interest to make a statement or remain silent.
We look for grounds to have the evidence declared void.
We review the police report, the wiretap orders and the search records to identify grounds for nullity from the outset.
We prepare the case for release pending trial.
We gather evidence of ties to Spain (residence registration, employment, family, bail) for the remand hearing.
We assist you at the hearing.
We assist you at the hearing under article 505 LECrim to fight for provisional release.
We provide this assistance ourselves, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Madrid, the Henares Corridor and all of Spain, including arrests at Barajas.
Crimes against public health in Madrid: what article 368 CP punishes
Article 368 CP punishes cultivating, producing, selling or possessing drugs with the aim of promoting their illegal consumption. It doesn’t need to reach the point of sale: possession intended for trafficking is enough. What changes your sentence is the substance and the quantity:
- Substances that cause serious harm (cocaine, heroin): the highest penalties.
- Substances that do not cause serious harm (cannabis, hashish): lower penalties.
- Notorious significance, organized crime or extreme seriousness (articles 369 to 370 CP): the aggravated subtypes, up to thirteen years.
The chapter also covers medicines, precursors and food adulteration, but in Madrid the core issue is drug trafficking.
Wiretaps, searches and surveillance: the legality of the evidence is the first front
Most cases are built on telephone wiretaps, surveillance and searches and entries. The legality of that evidence is the first thing we examine:
- Justification for the wiretap order: specific evidence, not a generic suspicion.
- Extensions: each one requires fresh justification based on new evidence.
- Searches and entries: a court order, presence of a lawyer and a complete record.
- Chain of custody of the substance from seizure to the laboratory.
A violation of fundamental rights taints, by connection, the evidence derived from it: a well-argued nullity claim can dismantle the bulk of the case.
Pre-trial detention and drug addiction: how it's argued at the hearing
When the classification falls within the aggravated offences, pre-trial detention is common. We fight it with evidence, and we address addiction where it exists:
- Ties to the community for appearance purposes: employment, residence, family, work history, offer of bail and surrender of passport.
- Proven drug addiction: highly qualified mitigating circumstance (art. 21.2 CP), supported by medical report and treatment plan.
- Suspension conditional on treatment for drug rehabilitation, achievable even for sentences over two years in qualified cases.
- Effective cooperation (art. 376 CP) where the client provides evidence against other responsible parties.
24-hour assistance following an arrest for drug offences
Tel. 681 256 507 · [email protected]
Sentences according to substance and quantity
The sentence depends mainly on the substance and the quantity involved:
- Basic offence (art. 368 CP): one to three years for substances that do not cause serious harm, and three to six years for those that do.
- Notorious quantity or organised crime (arts. 369 and 369 bis CP): higher sentences, with the National Court frequently having jurisdiction.
- Extreme seriousness (art. 370 CP): up to thirteen years.
This is why the initial classification matters so much: taking the case out of the aggravated categories can mean the difference of years in sentencing.
Arrests at Barajas and jurisdiction of the National Court
Arrests at Barajas airport involving substances arriving from abroad are usually investigated by the Central Investigating Courts of the National Court when the conduct goes beyond a local scope. This changes the defence: the investigation is longer and more technical, involving coordination between UDYCO, Customs Surveillance and Europol, possible secrecy of proceedings, and pre-trial detention that is common from the first court appearance. These cases frequently carry confiscation of proceeds and a related offence of money laundering, which we also handle. We provide 24-hour assistance for arrests at Barajas and coordinate with a local associate when the arrest takes place outside the Community of Madrid.
Defence in offences against public health: frequently asked questions
I've been caught with drugs, is it always a criminal offence?
Not always. Possession for personal use is not a criminal offence. The offence requires that the possession be intended for trafficking, and this is proven through quantity, division into portions, scales or cash. Challenging that intended purpose is the first line of defence.
Why is the purity of the substance so important?
The purity expert report is decisive: the threshold for notorious quantity is set based on the pure drug content, not the gross weight. A counter-expert report can take the case out of the aggravated category and drastically reduce the sentence.
Will I be remanded in pre-trial detention?
Yes, very frequently in aggravated cases. This is why we prepare the art. 505 hearing with evidence of ties to the community and, where there is dependency, with a medical report: the precautionary scenario changes even when the Public Prosecutor requests pre-trial detention.
I'm a user, does my addiction help me at trial?
It can be. Accredited addiction operates as a highly qualified mitigating circumstance and opens the door to suspension of the sentence conditional on treatment. Without a medical report and a rehabilitation plan, the mitigating circumstance is not applied.
When does the National Court take on my case?
When the quantity, route or structure exceeds the local scale: importation through Barajas, organisation or transnational connection. In that case the National Court conducts the investigation, with a longer investigation phase and pre-trial detention being usual.
Our office at Goya 20, Madrid
Estudio Jurídico Cervantes & Gª-Escribano
Book an initial assessment or call us directly. We see clients at Goya 20, by phone and by video call, with the confidentiality inherent to professional practice.
- Calle Goya 20, 1st Floor Left · 28001 Madrid
- 681 256 507 · 24 hours, every day
- [email protected]
- Monday to Friday · 9:00 – 19:00 (24/7 assistance for detainees)
Call a lawyer for offences against public health in Madrid
An arrest for an offence against public health is decided in the first few hours: the legality of the wiretap or search that is being challenged, the purity that is being assessed by expert report, and the evidence of ties to the community brought to the court appearance. The sooner you call a criminal defense lawyer experienced in offences against public health, the more room we have to act. We assist clients in Madrid and throughout Spain. Call us on 681 256 507.
