Arrested for Drugs in Spain: What Happens Next
Arrested for drugs in Spain as a foreigner? What the police can do, what your embassy can and cannot do, and the decisions that matter in the first days.
Read the articleNo jargon and no runaround: what happens, what deadlines apply and what your real options are. Written by Miriam Rosales, criminal defence lawyer.
Arrested for drugs in Spain as a foreigner? What the police can do, what your embassy can and cannot do, and the decisions that matter in the first days.
Read the articleHow much a criminal lawyer costs in Spain and what the price depends on. Fees, what legal aid covers and why a foreign national usually pays privately.
A relative remanded in custody in Spain before trial? What pre-trial detention requires, how long it can last and how to challenge it at the hearing.
If you are an EU citizen and a country requests you, must Spain notify your home country? What European law says about the extradition of EU citizens.
Can an asylum claim stop an extradition? How political asylum and extradition relate in Spain and when it is a real avenue of defence.
Spain has refused your extradition and you want to know if you can travel freely. What a refusal really means and what risks still exist abroad.
Morocco, the US, Albania, China or Venezuela: how extradition from Spain works depending on the requesting country and what safeguards you have in each case.
Can EncroChat messages be used as evidence in Spain? This is what the Supreme Court has ruled and what options the defence has.
Are you being requested from another country and don't know if it's extradition or an EAW? This is the real difference between them and why it changes your defence.
The difference between a criminal organisation and a criminal group can change your sentence. What Spain's Criminal Code says (art. 570 bis and ter) and why it is decisive.
Petaqueo is now a specific offence in Spain: art. 568.2 of the Criminal Code, 3 to 5 years from April 2026. What it covers, earlier cases and how to defend it.
You have or think you have an Interpol Red Notice and don't know what it means. What a Red Notice is, its consequences, and how to remove or appeal it before the CCF.
How many years in prison drug trafficking can carry under the Spanish Criminal Code: basic penalties, aggravating factors and when the penalty can be reduced.
You have been arrested for drug trafficking in Spain and don't know what happens next. What happens in the first 72 hours, your rights and what not to do.
You have been served with a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) in Spain and don't know what happens now. How the process works, the deadlines and your rights.