Andorra Drug Case: 228g Caffeine Not Cocaine, Gold Scams Probed, Multiple Weekend Arrests

Drug Case Update: 228g White Powder Confirmed as Caffeine, Not Cocaine Laboratory analysis has verified that 228 grams of white powder found with a suspected drug trafficker in Andorra was caffeine rather than cocaine. The 26-year-old non-resident, in preventive detention at La Comella prison since October 2024, still faces a serious public health offence charge, potentially carrying six to ten years if convicted.

Officers discovered the case on 15 October 2024 during a roadside breath test, uncovering four grams of cocaine in his vehicle. He attributed it to friends, leading to a home search that revealed 21 grams of marijuana, ten grams of hashish, a precision scale, packaging items, and €500 cash. Prosecutors uphold the trafficking accusation after phone records showed links to nearly 100 likely customers, including 10 to 15 with unknown foreign numbers. This week, more than 50 identified users faced rapid trials at the Batllia, each proposed a one-month conditional nighttime curfew and €500 fine for possession. Consumer cases largely resolved, the probe approaches completion before trial.

Gold Fraud Investigation Ongoing Police are pursuing an organised group of at least five non-residents responsible for gold scams inflicting around €8,000 in damages at jewellery outlets. The fraudsters sold tungsten items coated in gold to deceive tests, completing three transactions at one store on Thursday and a fourth on Friday. A fifth bid raised doubts, prompting rechecks that exposed the ruse and triggered a major police response. One formal complaint addresses over €6,000 in losses, while investigators review a second for nearly €2,000; unsuccessful tries hit other shops without reports.

Weekend Arrests for Assault, Weapons, and Drugs Authorities made several detentions over the weekend. In Encamp on Sunday afternoon around 3pm, a 52-year-old man faced arrest for offences against physical and moral integrity after a verbal argument with his partner turned physical, culminating in a slap at their home.

Early Sunday in Sant Julià de Lòria, a neighbour alerted police to a 56-year-old man, heavily intoxicated and wielding what looked like a machete in public. Officers seized a banned 27.5cm hunting knife, which he claimed to have drawn for sales photos to a hunter; he faces a collective security violation charge.

Drug cases included a 56-year-old man stopped Thursday afternoon at Riu Runer border with 0.43 grams of heroin. Early Sunday, a 19-year-old woman had 0.5 grams of tusi, while at Pas de la Casa, police during a routine patrol halted a car without lights. A 42-year-old passenger carried 1.2 grams of cocaine, and the 26-year-old tourist driver tested at 1.79 alcohol, lacked a licence, and both face public health charges.

Further arrests covered a 39-year-old tourist at Pas de la Casa for drunken public shouting, aggression, threats to officers, false identity, and no documents—offences against honour, liberty, and legal traffic security. At the Franco-Andorran border, a 38-year-old non-resident drew charges for breaching an expulsion order.