Sentenced to more than three years for selling drugs from a grocery shop

A grocery store manager in Vélez-Málaga has been sentenced to more than three years behind bars for using her shop as a front to sell hard drugs.

The High Court of Justice of Andalusia (TSJA) has upheld the prison sentence of three years and three months, rejecting an appeal filed by the defendant’s legal team against an earlier ruling by the Málaga Provincial Court.

The court ratified the facts of the case, which date back to a police operation in July 2023 initiated after the Specialised and Violent Crime Unit (UDEV) received anonymous tips that the local food shop was operating as a small-scale sales point for narcotics.

During surveillance, officers observed the accused standing at the shop entrance in a "vigilant attitude." She was seen scanning both sides of the street repeatedly before ushering two women inside the premises. Following this suspicious behaviour, officers raided the shop to conduct a search.

During the inspection, investigators discovered a blue purse hidden on the bottom shelf of a rack, concealed behind large plastic water jugs. Inside the purse, police found a significant stash of heat-sealed plastic wraps containing Class A drugs. The haul consisted of 114 wraps of cocaine, with an estimated illicit street value of €3,423.80, and 86 wraps of heroin, valued at approximately €1,139.07.

This narcotic substance "was intended for sale to third parties", confirms the Court of Appeal, as did the Court of Malaga. In addition, during the inspection carried out, 440 euros were also seized from the illicit activity indicated, most of the amount in the defendant's possession.

For these facts, the woman was sentenced to three years and three months' imprisonment for an offence against public health and ordered to pay a fine of 18,250 euros. Her defence filed an appeal against this decision, with up to four arguments, which, however, has now been rejected.

For the Chamber of the Andalusian High Court, the appeal "does no more than reiterate the arguments aimed at convincing this court of second instance that there was the aforementioned error of assessment by the Court of origin and that this led to a violation of the right to the presumption of innocence".

The TSJA says that it "does not find any substantial error in the considerations that the Audiencia devotes in the appealed judgement to the assessment of the evidence" and adds that the destination of the drugs "was patent" and it was "absolutely obvious" that it was for sale, regardless of the fact that no other tools were found to prepare the doses.