The Supreme Court (TS) has upheld the conviction of a man for drug dealing who, at the moment of his arrest in Veronicas (Las Americas, Tenerife), attempted to hide a bag of drugs in several places, finally concealing it in another person's shoe in the presence of the police.
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal against his sentence for a public health offence with the aggravating factor of recidivism. The man has been sentenced to two years and nine months in prison and will be deported and banned from the country for seven years after serving two-thirds of his sentence or being granted parole.
The man had previously been sentenced to two years in prison in early 2021 for the same crime, which was suspended for three years.
At the time, the Local Police were monitoring drug dealers in the Verónicas area in the south of Tenerife, when one of the officers saw the detainee making a transaction in an alley. When the accused noticed the police, he fled, leading to a chase during which he tried to hide the substance in various ways, finally trying to hide it in someone else’s shoe after the police had caught him.
The incident occurred about ten months after his first conviction when he was caught handing a bag containing 0.3 grams of cocaine, with a purity of 46%, to another man in exchange for 40 euros. He also had another ten euros in his possession.
Before the Supreme Court, he argued that there was no direct evidence linking him to drug trafficking. He suggested that the person considered the buyer could have been the one selling the drugs, but this never testified in court as he was a holidaymaker and could not be located.
The defence claimed that the conviction relied on the testimony of the Local Police, which they argued was neither "concrete nor detailed" and was tainted by what the supposed buyer had stated.
The Supreme Court responded that the issues raised had already been addressed by the Penal Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC), which confirmed the initial ruling of the Provincial Court of Tenerife. The Supreme Court stated that a possible review was beyond its jurisdiction.
Both judicial bodies deemed the initial ruling to be based on valid and appropriate evidence, primarily constituted by the testimony of the Local Police and the subsequent analysis of the confiscated drugs.
