Spanish police are tightening controls at Barcelona-El Prat airport in response to a surge in marijuana trafficking from Thailand. Over the past year, the National Police have detained eight people and seized around 180 kilos of vacuum-packed cannabis buds hidden in luggage arriving from Bangkok, often via stopovers in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.
The crackdown began after a passenger was caught in August 2024 with 16.6 kilos of cannabis arriving via Doha. Within weeks, a second traveller was found carrying nearly 19 kilos in packages of the same design, leading to the arrest of the alleged organiser, a trafficker with previous convictions. Subsequent operations uncovered even larger shipments, including 40 kilos intercepted in January and two men stopped in February with 22 kilos each. One of the suspects was a minor and handed over to Barcelona’s juvenile prosecutor.
British intelligence services have assisted the investigations, providing data on high-risk travellers, while customs officers at El Prat have intensified random checks on what they call ‘hot flights’. The Guardia Civil has also carried out its own operations under the Thaugreen plan, arresting 31 people and confiscating 866 kilos of cannabis.
Authorities say traffickers deliberately use couriers with clean records to avoid suspicion. In total, between the National Police and Guardia Civil, more than 40 arrests have been made and one tonne of marijuana seized in connection with the route.
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