Drug Trafficking Lawyer in Madrid
If you have been arrested or summoned for drug trafficking in Madrid, following a police operation, a search or a checkpoint stop, what is decided in the first hours shapes the whole case. Do not give a statement without a lawyer by your side. We’ll take the call ourselves. 24-hour line: 681 256 507.
Drug trafficking lawyer in Madrid, available 24 hours
In drug trafficking cases, everything hinges on two things: the intended purpose attributed to the substance and the legality of the evidence used against you. We are criminal defense lawyers in Madrid, focused on criminal law, and we defend those facing charges for a drug trafficking offence, within crimes against public health. And we handle it ourselves from start to finish, without passing you from one lawyer to another.
Types of drug trafficking cases we defend in Madrid
These are the types of drug trafficking cases in which we take on your defense in Madrid. When the case reaches the level of «notorious significance» or there is an organisation behind it, it moves into the territory of drug trafficking networks, which we also handle.
Small-scale dealing and minor significance
Retail sale or possession intended for trafficking of minor significance. The law allows the sentence to be reduced by one degree (art. 368.2 CP), and we fight to have your case classified this way.
Substances that cause severe harm
Cocaine, heroin, amphetamines or MDMA: substances that the law considers to cause severe harm to health, carrying the highest penalties. Expert evidence on purity is decisive in reducing the classification.
Cannabis and marijuana cultivation
Hashish, marijuana and cultivation. As these do not cause severe harm, the penalty is lower, and personal use or cultivation for personal consumption open up clear lines of defense.
Criminal defense lawyers expert in drug trafficking in Madrid
In a drug trafficking offence, the boundary with personal use and the evidence decide everything. This is what we do differently:
We argue personal use versus trafficking
We fight over the line between personal or shared use and trafficking: the quantity, how it is divided up and its intended purpose completely change the sentence.
Independent expert analysis of the substance
We bring in independent expert analysis of the substance: the real weight and purity can place the case outside the aggravated offence.
A single lawyer, from start to finish
The person who takes your call is the same one who represents you in court. The same lawyer follows your case through to the verdict.
We seek to have irregular searches declared void
We review the legality of the entry and search and of any interventions: if they were irregular, we seek to have the evidence declared void.
What we do if you are arrested for drug trafficking
If you are arrested for drug trafficking, the first hours determine your situation: the detention can last up to 72 hours before you are brought before a judge, and what you say conditions the whole case. This is what we do with you from the moment you call:
We go to the police station or to the search.
We travel to the police station or to your home during the search and take on your defense from the very first minute of the proceedings.
We speak with you alone.
Before you make any statement, we meet with you in private (article 520.6 of the Criminal Procedure Act) and decide together whether it is in your interest to make a statement or remain silent.
We are present at every stage.
A lawyer from the firm is present at the search, at the police station or at the on-duty court, in Madrid or in the Henares Corridor.
We look for grounds of nullity.
We review the police report, the wiretapping order and the search record to identify potential grounds of nullity from the outset.
We prepare the court appearance.
We prepare the appearance before the judge with evidence of ties to the community (residence, family, employment) in order to avoid pre-trial detention.
We provide this assistance ourselves, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Madrid city, the Henares Corridor and throughout Spain, including arrests at Barajas.
What you are accused of in a drug trafficking offence
The offence of drug trafficking (article 368 of the Criminal Code) punishes cultivating, producing, selling or possessing toxic drugs, narcotics or psychotropic substances with the aim of promoting their illegal use. It is not necessary to actually sell the drugs: possession or holding intended for trafficking is enough. What changes your situation is the substance and the quantity:
- Substances that cause serious harm: cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, MDMA. The highest penalties.
- Substances that do not cause serious harm: cannabis, hashish, marijuana. Lower penalties.
- Minor significance: small-scale dealing of little importance, with a reduced penalty.
- Cultivation: when grown for trafficking purposes; cultivation for personal use is not a criminal offence.
Distinguishing the correct category, or getting the case out of the trafficking classification altogether, is the first thing we work on.
Personal use, shared use or trafficking: where does your case stand
The line between personal use and trafficking lies in the intended destination of the substance, and that is where the case is won or lost. The Supreme Court looks at objective signs:
- The quantity compared with your proven daily consumption.
- The form of presentation: individual doses, small wraps, uneven distribution.
- The equipment: precision scales, cutting agents, self-sealing bags.
- Movements of money without justification.
Personal use, evidenced by a medical report or history of addiction, and shared use among addicts (a closed group, a private setting, a quantity for immediate use, no minors involved and no profit motive) can take the conduct outside the scope of the offence. Without working on this from the moment of the police report, the prosecution will classify you as a trafficker by default.
Lines of defense against a drug trafficking accusation
When you are accused of drug trafficking, we work on several fronts at the same time:
- Nullity of wiretaps and searches. If the order authorising the wiretaps is not properly reasoned, that evidence falls, along with everything derived from it.
- Purity counter-expert report. Notorious quantity («notoria importancia») is measured on pure drug content: cocaine 750 g, heroin 300 g, hashish 2.5 kg, marijuana 10 kg. If purity is low, the weight may fall below the threshold and the aggravating factor falls away.
- The chain of custody. We verify that the substance seized is the one analysed, with no breaks from seizure to the laboratory.
- Documented drug addiction. With proven dependency, mitigating circumstances and suspension of the sentence in exchange for treatment may apply.
- Minor significance. When the act is of little importance, we request a one-degree reduction (art. 368.2 CP).
24-hour assistance if arrested for drug trafficking
Tel. 681 256 507 · [email protected]
What sentences are at stake depending on the substance and quantity
This is what you may be facing, depending on the substance and quantity:
- Substances causing serious harm (cocaine, heroin): 3 to 6 years’ imprisonment and a fine.
- Substances not causing serious harm (cannabis, hashish): 1 to 3 years’ imprisonment and a fine.
- Minor significance: one-degree reduction, with options for suspension of the sentence.
- Notorious quantity or other aggravating factors: the sentence rises to up to nine years.
- Criminal organisation: sentences start at nine years and are higher for the leaders; this is where drug trafficking on a larger scale and the National Court come in.
A proportional fine based on the value of the drugs (from one to three times its value) is always added to the prison sentence. The difference between one and nine years is decided in the expert report, in the initial charge, and in how the trial or plea agreement is prepared.
Defence in drug trafficking cases in Madrid and throughout Spain
Drug trafficking cases in Madrid are investigated by the Courts of Instruction and tried before the Criminal Courts or the Provincial Court of Madrid; when there is notorious quantity, organised crime or a cross-border dimension, jurisdiction passes to the National Court, with an appeal in cassation before the Supreme Court. We also handle proceedings in the Henares Corridor (Alcalá de Henares, Arganda del Rey, Coslada) and throughout Spain, including arrests at Barajas Airport. Our office at Goya 20 is just steps away from the main courts in the city centre.
Your drug trafficking lawyer, privately retained, not court-appointed
In a drug trafficking case, where almost everything hinges on the purity expert report and the nullity of the evidence, a court-appointed lawyer covers the formalities, but rarely prepares the counter-expert report and the nullity strategy with enough time. Choosing a specialist criminal defense lawyer in drug trafficking on a privately retained basis means that the same firm that studies your case is the one that answers your call, prepares your criminal defense, explains every step to you, and attends the hearing with you. No intermediaries: we handle your case ourselves, from start to finish.
Frequently asked questions about drug trafficking in Madrid
Can I be convicted just for personal use?
Personal use is not a criminal offence. The problem lies in proving it: if the quantity, the way it is presented (wraps, doses) or the equipment (scales, small bags) points to sale, the prosecution classifies it as trafficking by default. With a medical report, a history of addiction and a correct reading of the police report, in many cases it can be reclassified as personal use or minor significance.
What is the difference between drug trafficking and narcotics trafficking?
It’s a matter of scale. Trafficking ranges from small-scale dealing to medium quantities. When there is ‘notoria importancia’ (extreme quantity of pure drug) or a criminal organisation involved, the offence is aggravated and is usually investigated by the National Court: this is what we call narcotics trafficking. We cover this in detail on our narcotics trafficking in Madrid page.
Does it help to be a user or an addict?
Yes, if it is documented. Proven dependency allows the mitigating circumstance of drug addiction to be applied and, above all, allows the sentence to be suspended in exchange for undergoing rehabilitation treatment, even for sentences that would otherwise mean imprisonment. We request a medical report and one from an addiction treatment centre from the outset.
Can wiretaps be annulled?
Yes, and it is one of the strongest lines of defence. If the order authorising the wiretaps was based on a generic suspicion rather than specific evidence, or if the extensions were not properly justified, that evidence is void, and everything derived from it falls with it. Most trafficking cases originate from wiretaps, so reviewing them is the first line of attack.
What is 'notoria importancia' (extreme quantity) and how does it change the sentence?
It is an aggravating circumstance applied when the quantity of pure drug exceeds certain thresholds set by the Supreme Court (for example, 750 grams of pure cocaine or 300 of heroin). It raises the sentence to up to nine years. Since it is measured on pure drug content, a counter-expert report that lowers the purity can bring the quantity below the threshold and rule out the aggravating circumstance.
Our office at Goya 20, Madrid
Estudio Jurídico Cervantes & Gª-Escribano
Book an initial consultation or call us directly. We see clients at Goya 20, by phone and by videoconference, with the confidentiality proper 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 AM – 7:00 PM (assistance to detainees 24/7)
Call a drug trafficking lawyer in Madrid
A drug trafficking case is won or lost in the first moves: the purity expert report, the annulment of the wiretaps and the account given in the first statement. The sooner you call a criminal defense lawyer specialising in drug trafficking, the more room we have to work with. We assist you directly, in Madrid and throughout Spain, including arrests at Barajas. Call us on 681 256 507.
