Andorra Court Cuts Drunk Driver's Sentence in Nightclub Crash; Multiple Drug Busts

Andorra's Superior Court has reduced the prison sentence of a Spanish man convicted of a multiple collision outside a nightclub in Andorra la Vella from nine years to six years and six months.

The ruling, issued yesterday, partially upheld the defendant's appeal while upholding convictions for five counts of intentional injuries—one for each of the five young victims injured on the night of 29 March 2024. It also confirmed charges of driving under the influence of drugs, with a blood alcohol level of 1.4 g/l, and a lesser penalty for cocaine possession. The court ordered a 20-year temporary expulsion from Andorra after the sentence ends.

The defendant's lawyer had requested a reduction to three years of firm prison time, highlighting 23 months already served at La Comella penitentiary since his March 2024 arrest. Defence claims cited heavy alcohol and cocaine use that night—worsened by the driver's unfamiliarity with Andorra's altitude—as mitigating factors, along with no fatalities, mostly minor injuries, no victim compensation claims, psychiatric reports showing no violent tendencies, and external issues like road conditions and crowd density. The man testified to remembering nothing of the incident and apologised to the victims' families and Andorra.

Prosecutors had sought up to 30 years in the initial Tribunal de Corts trial, which opted for intentional injuries with a dangerous instrument over attempted murder. The Superior Court denied a larger reduction. The one-third cut from the original term falls short of defence hopes and ends the ordinary appeals process.

Meanwhile, the 'Operació Llops' cocaine trafficking trial at the Tribunal de Corts has wrapped up, with a verdict awaited after closing arguments. Prosecutors seek 30 years total for four main defendants, including eight years each for the top three over 242 grams sold, more than 130 grams seized in one home, 280 grams for the third, and bank traces of 16,000 euros in proceeds, plus fines up to 200,000 euros and expulsions. The lead defendant's request dropped from nine years due to his confession and cooperation; he has two years in pre-trial detention with no priors. The fourth faces six years and three months for supplying 37.5 grams. Defences pushed for acquittals or four-year terms, challenging search evidence, phone slang like "síndries verdes" for cocaine, lawyerless statements, and family ties including Andorran children—one defence even referenced ChatGPT on message IDs. Tensions flared over alleged prosecutorial bias and rehearsed police testimony. Four consumers face three months' conditional night curfew and 1,000-euro fines each. The probe began late 2023 and peaked in March 2024.

Police this week dismantled a major cocaine sales point in Santa Coloma through 'Operació Trasto', a year-long probe triggered by a tip from another case. Tuesday evening's raids, involving multiple units and a drug-sniffing dog, led to two arrests: a 48-year-old resident dealer, now in preventive custody at La Comella's adaptation module after judicial processing for trafficking amid flight risk concerns, and a 38-year-old Andorran buyer with prior record, caught leaving a monitored storage unit with three grams of cocaine in wraps. He received a swift conditional sentence and fine for possession and consumption before release.

Wednesday's court-ordered searches of two storage units—one in Santa Coloma, one in Andorra la Vella—and the dealer's home yielded 38.89 grams of cocaine (including two wraps totalling nearly five grams), 51.74 grams of a toxic substance testing positive as likely crystal (lab confirmation pending), four precision scales, extensive packaging, dose-preparation tools, and other trafficking items. Investigators believe the point operated for at least a year, mainly distributing cocaine, with suspicions of larger hauls possibly discarded beforehand. The case remains open, with more arrests possible.

Separate arrests this week included two tourists, aged 23 and 46, at the Riu Runer border with small amounts of cocaine; a man detained Friday at the same frontier with one ecstasy pill, who received a swift conditional penalty and release; a 45-year-old in La Massana for partner assault; a Tarter resident and his companion for refusing a breath test—after a prior positive—and resisting arrest, plus assaulting officers; and four drivers aged 20-35 with alcohol levels from 1.22 to 2.05 g/l.