Criminal Lawyers in Drug Trafficking

Drug Trafficking Defense in Madrid

Our firm, based at Velázquez 27 in Madrid, regularly acts in public health offense proceedings before the city's criminal courts. The vast majority of drug trafficking cases in Madrid are investigated at the Plaza de Castilla courts, where —following the reorganization introduced by Organic Law 1/2025— the former investigating courts have been integrated into the Investigation Section of the Madrid Court of Instance. The suspect's first statement and the pre-trial detention hearing both take place there: two moments that shape the entire case and where immediate legal assistance is decisive.

The trial court depends on the penalty at stake. Under Article 14 of the Criminal Procedure Act (LECrim), offenses punishable with up to five years in prison —the basic type of Article 368 CP— are tried by the Criminal Section of the Court of Instance, while the aggravated subtypes —notably significant quantity, criminal organization— are tried before the Madrid Provincial Court (Audiencia Provincial).

International drug trafficking —networks operating across several provinces or from abroad, seizures at ports and airports, investigations arising from European police cooperation (EncroChat, SkyECC)— falls under the Judiciary Act within the jurisdiction of the Audiencia Nacional (National High Court): the Central Investigating Courts handle the investigation and, depending on the penalty, the trial is held before the Central Criminal Court or the Criminal Chamber. Defending a case before the Audiencia Nacional requires specific experience with macro-proceedings, prolonged pre-trial detention and international judicial cooperation.

If you or a family member has been arrested in Madrid on drug charges, you can reach us urgently at +34 91 078 65 74 or through our contact page.

Arrested with Drugs: What to Do in the First 72 Hours

Article 520 LECrim provides that police custody may not last longer than strictly necessary to clarify the facts and, in any event, sets a maximum of seventy-two hours, after which the detainee must be released or brought before the court. Much of the outcome of the case is decided within that window, so keep these guidelines in mind:

• Remain silent at the police station. The detainee has the right to remain silent, to refuse to answer some or all questions, to state that they will only testify before the judge, and not to incriminate themselves (Article 520.2 LECrim). Testifying at the station without knowing the contents of the police report rarely helps the defense.
• Appoint a lawyer of your choice as soon as possible. It is an express right of the detainee, who must be assisted by counsel without undue delay. The lawyer also gains access to the case materials essential to challenge the lawfulness of the arrest.
• Communication. You have the right to have a relative or person of your choice informed of your detention and place of custody, and to a phone call with a third party. Foreign nationals may require notification of their consular office and free interpreter assistance.
• Make sure everything is on the record. The police report must state the place and time of the arrest and of the transfer to court. If the detention is unduly prolonged or unlawful, a habeas corpus application may be filed, which the judge must resolve within the statutory 24-hour period.

Once before the court, Article 505 LECrim requires a hearing within seventy-two hours of the detainee being placed at the court's disposal: the judge may only order pre-trial detention if the prosecutor or an accusing party requests it and, if no one does, must order immediate release. Using those hours to document community ties —home, employment, family responsibilities— and, where applicable, drug dependence under treatment is essential to argue for release on bail or provisional liberty.

How to Avoid Prison: Mitigated Subtype and Suspension for Drug Dependence

Mitigated subtype of Article 368.2 CP. The second paragraph of Article 368 CP allows the courts to impose the penalty one degree lower in view of the minor significance of the act and the personal circumstances of the offender. It is the typical route for isolated, small-quantity sales at the lowest tier of the trafficking chain. Its effect is decisive: the sentence drops to a range of one year and six months to three years in prison for substances causing serious harm to health, and six months to one year for the rest. This option is excluded where the circumstances of Articles 369 bis and 370 CP apply. With a sentence not exceeding two years and no relevant prior record, the ordinary suspension under Article 80.1 and 80.2 CP remains available.

Suspension for drug dependence (Article 80.5 CP). For offenders who committed the act because of their dependence on drugs, alcohol or other substances, the law extends the suspension threshold to custodial sentences not exceeding five years, even where the general conditions of a first offense and a two-year maximum are not met. A duly accredited public or private centre or service must certify that the convicted person is rehabilitated or undergoing detoxification treatment at the time the suspension is decided. The suspension is conditional on not abandoning the treatment until completion, although relapses are not treated as abandonment unless they show a definitive dropout. In practice, this means that even a conviction under the basic type for substances causing serious harm can be suspended if the actual sentence does not exceed five years and the rehabilitation is documented.

Other defense levers. The offender's severe addiction also operates as a mitigating circumstance (Article 21.2 CP) and even, in cases of intense impairment, as an incomplete defense. Article 376 CP allows the penalty to be lowered by one or two degrees for a drug-dependent offender who duly proves successful completion of a detoxification treatment —provided the quantity is not notably significant or of extreme gravity— and for those who actively cooperate with the authorities. After the reform of the guilty-plea agreement by Organic Law 1/2025 (Article 655 LECrim, now without a penalty cap, and the preliminary hearing of Article 785 LECrim), negotiation with the prosecution can combine these mechanisms. All of these routes require solid expert evidence —medical and psychological reports, treatment certificates— which we work to build from the investigation stage itself.

Statute of Limitations and Clearing the Criminal Record

Statute of limitations (Article 131 CP). The limitation period depends on the maximum penalty for the offense. The basic type involving substances that do not cause serious harm to health (maximum of three years in prison) becomes time-barred after five years; the basic type for substances causing serious harm (maximum of six years) and the aggravated subtypes of Article 369 CP, after ten years; and criminal organization (Article 369 bis CP) or extreme gravity cases (Article 370 CP), after fifteen years, a period that reaches twenty for the leaders, managers or administrators of the organization. Time runs from the commission of the act and is interrupted once the proceedings are directed against the suspect, so the date of each procedural step can prove decisive for the defense.

Clearing the criminal record (Article 136 CP). Once the sentence has been served, the convicted person is entitled to have their record cleared if they do not reoffend within the statutory periods: two years for sentences not exceeding twelve months, three years for other less serious sentences below three years, five years for less serious sentences of three years or more, and ten years for serious penalties (imprisonment exceeding five years, Article 33 CP). Where the sentence was suspended and final remission was obtained, the period is computed retroactively from the day after the sentence would have been served had the benefit not been granted, which considerably shortens the wait. Moreover, if the record has not been cleared once the periods have elapsed, the judge may not take those antecedents into account (Article 136.5 CP). We apply for cancellation before the Ministry of Justice as soon as it is available: a live criminal record affects future suspended sentences, immigration files and access to certain public-sector jobs.