Police have arrested an Irish holidaymaker after a sniffer dog picked up drugs in his suitcase on a luggage belt at Ibiza Airport.
Officers held the 38-year-old after watching him collect the case the drugs had been detected in after touching down on the party island on a flight from Ireland.
The illicit substances, comprising nearly 30 grams of cocaine as well as ecstasy tablets and several grams of cannabis resin, were hidden inside an otherwise-empty bottle of shower gel.
The arrest took place on Sunday. It was not immediately clear if the unnamed tourist has already appeared in court for a remand hearing and whether he has been released on bail pending an ongoing criminal probe or remanded in custody.
Ahzarus the Belgian Malinois
The dog that made the discovery, called Ahzarus and believed to be a Belgian Malinois, has been pictured alongside the suitcase which it identified as suspicious.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard, confirming the arrest, said: “Civil Guard officers have arrested an Irish national in the arrivals area of Ibiza Airport as the suspected author of a crime of drug trafficking.
“The drugs were discovered on Sunday afternoon during a routine search Civil Guard officers were carrying out in the luggage reclaim area, assisted by a specialist sniffer dog called Ahzarus trained to detect illicit substances.
“The dog which was walking around one of the luggage belts, ‘marked’ one of the suitcases on a flight coming from Ireland.
“When the passenger picked up his case, the officers asked him to open it in a private customs area.
“Inside they found a bottle of shower gel with several packages inside that contained 28 grams of cocaine, 15 ecstasy tablets and several more grams of cannabis resin.”
A well-placed source said: “The amount of drugs found make it very unlikely they were for personal use.
“Investigations into what the suspect was intending to do with them are continuing.”
By Gerard Couzens
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