In November, officers from the National Police’s Central Narcotics Squad discovered something no one had ever seen before. heroin in pills. “A pioneering format in Spain, Europe and the world,” explains commissioner Alberto Morales, director of UDYCO. This is not a simple aesthetic variation, but rather a new modality which, according to the researchers, aims to renew the market for an “already criticized” drug to reach a “younger” audience. The operation, carried out in Madrid with the support of the American DEA and the Colombian National Police, made it possible to dismantle the criminal network which test a new route between Spain and Colombia taking advantage of pre-existing means of cocaine trafficking. Therefore, five people were arrested and three of them have already gone to prison.
The investigation, led by the Special Anti-Drug Prosecutor’s Office of the National Court and the Court of Instruction number 17 of Madrid, focused from the start on a historic drug trafficker nicknamed “El Turco”, who had just been released from prison after serving 18 years in prison for drug trafficking crimes. Officers tracked his movements for weeks and observed that he followed an extremely cautious pattern. He did not use a cell phone, meeting his contacts only in person at a kebab shop in the south of the capital and making several stops to ensure he was not being followed. Additionally, he hid his face with caps and sunglasses and only traveled on public transportation or in rental vehicles with drivers.
As the police investigation progressed, El Turco’s meetings with his contacts became more frequent and authorities were able to identify four other members of the network: two citizens of Colombian nationality, another also of Turkish origin and a fourth from the Dominican Republic. According to Commissioner Morales, the Madrid-based network had received the product from Colombia and would take care of its further distribution. “We thought that part of the market was going to go to Catalonia and that another part was going to stay here, in the capital,” explains the inspector.
The operation culminated last November with the interception of eight kilos of heroin in the form of pills in a parking lot of a shopping center in Madrid, in broad daylight. According to investigators, the drugs arrived by air at the Barajas airport, hidden in backpacks and small bags, taking advantage of already established cocaine routes. For their part, the five detainees were brought to justice as allegedly responsible for belonging to a criminal organization and drug trafficking, and three of them have already been imprisoned. During searches carried out in the capital, five mobile phones, a vehicle and 100,000 USDT (around 100,000 euros) in cryptocurrencies linked to the group were seized.
A “more attractive” heroine for a “younger” audience
The tablets are shaped like a skull, have 10% heroin per pill and they would have been sold between eight and ten euros on the market. Commissioner Morales points out that, although heroin in pill form shares the addictive effect of any dose of this drug, its format is unprecedented and with a clear message of marketing. “They are trying to make it more appealing to a younger audience, which has never been seen before,” he explains.
According to the National Anti-Drug Plan, heroin, synthesized from morphine and classified as an opiate, generally comes in the form of a white powder and is smoked, injected or inhaled. Its adulteration with quinine, lactose, starch or even barbiturates increases the health risks and the probability of infections or overdose. So the pills would not be designed to be ingested directly, but must be crushed before consumption, which keeps the potency of the drug intact but increases its risk. “It is consumed in exactly the same way as any dose of heroin, but its presentation to be able to sell it is different,” explains the head of the Central Narcotics Brigade.
This discovery has raised particular concern about the risk it poses to young people, an audience towards which this strategy seems to be aimed. According to the Department of Health’s 2024 Alcohol, Tobacco and Illicit Drugs Report, heroin use among students aged 14 to 18 remains below 1%, with an average age of onset of 14.1 years, but two out of ten students consider it easy to obtain this medication, a figure up 3.5 points since 2021. This is why, for the Police, this pill format can reduce the perception of danger among adolescents. “It has the same addictive power (as heroin in its usual presentation) or even more because of its aesthetics,” warns commissioner Alberto Morales.
“This operation represents another step in the fight against drug trafficking. Criminal organizations are trying to innovate and open markets, but we are ready to detect and cut them off. In this case it is a clear message that this type of operations is not profitable for Colombian organizations,” concludes Morales.
About The Author
