Nearly 100 Cocaine Users Summoned to Andorra Court After Shared Supplier Arrest

Nearly 100 cocaine users summoned to Andorra's Batllia after sharing the same supplier, facing fines and suspended sentences.

A routine breathalyser check has led to the summons of around 100 people to the Seat of Justice over several days as cocaine users. The first 20 appeared on Friday. Most face charges for personal use, with all expected to receive a one-month conditional nighttime arrest, suspended for two years, plus a 500-euro fine.

The cases stem from a 26-year-old man arrested on the night of 14 October in Escaldes during a breathalyser stop. Officers found five wraps containing nearly four grams of cocaine on him, plus a sixth with traces. A vehicle search uncovered over 500 euros in cash, mostly in 60-euro bundles. At the police station, he consented to a home search, where canine units discovered three sealed packages totalling 228 grams of cocaine, a precision scale, about 50 small wraps for doses, and other drug trafficking items. They also seized 21.7 grams of marijuana and 10.4 grams of hashish.

Analysis of his seized phone revealed contacts with numerous clients, generating the list of summons. The man, who lived irregularly in Andorra due to prior expulsion over unrelated antecedents, remains in custody at La Comella prison. Police had prior suspicions of his drug involvement but no prior catches. These user cases will precede his trial, potentially strengthening prosecution demands. Most defendants receive public defenders, assigned four per lawyer, and are likely to accept the proposed penalties.

In a separate incident, police arrested a 41-year-old resident early Monday at the Riu Runer border on a public health offence charge. Agents boarding a regular line bus found two wraps totalling 15.4 grams of crystal in his backpack. He will face judicial proceedings as investigations check for links to others.

The weekend saw further arrests: a 27-year-old for assaulting someone outside a capital nightclub on Friday morning, leaving the victim hospitalised; three for drink-driving in Andorra la Vella—a 31-year-old motorcyclist (1.49g/l), a 32-year-old woman (1.05g/l) after crashing into a roundabout, and a 42-year-old on an electric scooter (1.92g/l); plus a 25-year-old Thursday night for insulting officers during a stop, when 0.4 grams of hashish was also found.