Puerto Cádiz (Spain): route for the european supply of phenetylamines (MDMA) used in the production of ecstasy to South America

Abstract

The dynamics of drug trafficking in Europe is complex, since it constitutes a consumer market mainly for hashish, cocaine hydrochloride, among other drugs, it is also an area that produces cannabis and synthetic drugs; the latter driven by the low cost of production and the high profitability in its sale to other regions of the world, such as South America. Cannabis production is mainly intended for European consumption, while synthetic drugs are manufactured for the European market and trafficked to other parts of the world, including South American countries such as Argentina, mainly through air routes and maritime routes in space 3,4-Methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) also called ecstasy. The main objective of this work is to publicize the modus operandi of MDMA trafficking from Europe to South America using the maritime and/or port route; to analyze the statistics of seizures, modalities, types and techniques of concealment of the drug, routes used, as well as to know the meaning of MDMA usually known as ecstasy or Molly, consequences, effects, consumption and cost. The article is based on a case study of a maritime drug trafficking event that occurred in December 2022, in which the Spanish authorities seized several kilograms of synthetic drugs on board a sailboat-type recreational vessel, in a port in the province of Cádiz, in Spain that had as its final destination the port of a South American country (Argentina).