Andorran Court Sentences Four Peruvians to Six Years Each for Cocaine Network

The Andorran Tribunal de Corts has sentenced four Peruvian residents to six years in prison each for their roles in a cocaine distribution network uncovered during Operation Llops.

The ruling, notified this week nearly three months after the trial concluded, imposes a total of 24 years of imprisonment on the main defendants. Each must also pay a 30,000 euro fine and faces 30 years of expulsion from the Principat following their prison terms. The four Peruvians faced charges of a major offence against public health due to drug trafficking.

Police dismantled the network through actions in March and October 2024, seizing over 200 grams of cocaine, cash, and related materials. The operation centred on a flat in Avinguda Tarragona, Andorra la Vella, with evidence pointing to prolonged sales linked to around 240 grams overall.

Prosecutors had sought a total of 30 years in prison, requesting eight years each for the three primary suspects—along with fines up to 200,000 euros—and six years and three months for the fourth, plus 40,000 euros and expulsion. They argued the investigation proved large-scale, sustained trafficking, supported by intercepted calls using drug-trade slang and surveillance of sales.

One defendant admitted selling cocaine for about a year, citing financial hardship and housing needs; prosecutors reduced their request slightly, noting partial cooperation as a step toward rehabilitation. Another denied trafficking, claiming he only stored a flatmate's drugs, while a third faced scrutiny over 80 suspicious bank deposits exceeding his salary. The fourth declined to testify amid reported death threats to his family.

Defences contested the scale of the operation, challenging call interpretations, drug quantity calculations, search validity, and claims of coordinated roles. They sought acquittals or major reductions, highlighting family ties, employment, and lack of priors in some cases.

Four others, charged with possession and consumption, received three months of conditional nighttime arrest and 1,000 euro fines each. The trial featured contradictions among defendants, defence-prosecution tensions, and complaints over procedural fairness.

The four main convicts plan to appeal to the Superior Court, deeming the sentences disproportionate compared to similar cases. Prosecutors may also appeal to uphold their original demands.