Joint operation by the Tax Agency and the National Police

• The two arrested were intercepted by investigators from the Customs Surveillance Service and the National Police when they intercepted the controlled delivery of a package containing the drug.
• A search of the home of one of the detainees allowed the agents to seize more narcotic substances of another type.
• With this operation, the agents have dismantled another point of distribution and sale of drugs in leisure areas.

May 8, 2023.- Customs Surveillance officials from the Tax Agency and agents from the National Police dismantle, in a joint operation, a point of sale and distribution of drugs in leisure areas in Alicante and culminate the operation with the arrest of two people and the seizure of 100 grams of a drug called 'Alpha' in addition to other types of narcotic substances.

The investigation carried out by Customs Surveillance investigators and agents from the Alicante Provincial Judicial Police Brigade ended after several surveillance and follow-ups of the suspects, after intercepting a controlled delivery of a package containing 100 grams of a narcotic substance whose drug test result was positive for a combination of several drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy and methamphetamines, presumably being a new substance cooked as an 'Alpha' drug.

A house search and more drugs seized

Following the arrest of the two suspects, the officers raided and searched the home of one of them, seizing other narcotic substances prepared for sale, such as 50 grams of cocaine, five grams of hashish, 34 grams of methamphetamine, 215 sildenafil pills (a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction), ten bottles of trenbolone enanthate (steroids used in bodybuilding), a bottle of poppers (amyl nitrile), as well as two precision scales and a notebook with notes related to drug transactions.

With these two arrests and the seizure of these drugs, Customs Surveillance and the National Police have dismantled another important point of distribution and sale of drugs in leisure areas.

The detainees, aged 32 and 41, were placed at the disposal of the Villajoyosa Court of Instruction.

What is the drug 'Alpha'?

The drug known as 'Alpha', 'Alpha-PVP', also known as 'flakka', is a synthetic drug and its compound, 'alpha-pyrrolidinovalerophenone', is a psychoactive substance with stimulant effects, the consumption of which can cause serious health effects, including acute poisoning and even death.

Furthermore, it is a drug whose price is lower than that of cocaine, which is why its consumption has been increasing in Spain recently. According to police investigations, the forms in which this substance is sold by traffickers include white powder, jelly beans of different colours, and even liquid form.

In Spain there have been two known cases of acute poisoning caused by this drug and this type of substance has been detected in toxicological analyses carried out on three people who died in 2014, 2015 and 2017.