Palma drug trial: several admit charges

Fifteen people are in the dock in Palma, Mallorca, as the Adriatico drug trial opens with several defendants admitting the prosecution’s allegations. The hearing began on Wednesday in the First Section of the Balearic Islands Provincial Court, after a planned Monday start was postponed.

Europa Press

Those who admitted the allegations will accept the prison terms ultimately set by the court, legal sources said. The defendants face accusations of offences against public health and belonging to a criminal organisation.

Other defendants are asking judges to halt the case and declare it invalid. Their lawyers allege irregularities in the Guardia Civil investigation, including searches they say went ahead without the necessary judicial authorisation.

Some defence teams had already tried earlier this year to move the case to Spain’s National Court, arguing that the investigation reached several parts of Spain and elsewhere in Europe. That request was rejected.

The Guardia Civil’s Operation Adriatico was carried out in September 2024, chiefly in Eivissa, Ibiza, and Málaga. Investigators said it broke up one of Spain’s largest synthetic-drug trafficking networks.

The operation seized more than one million ecstasy tablets, 212 kilos of ketamine and 73 kilos of MDMA. Officers also recovered 20 kilos of cocaine, 21 kilos of ‘tusi’, ten kilos of hashish and six kilos of marijuana.

Palma drug trial: 15 in court, several admit charges