The Guardia Civil has seized over 21,000 liters of nitrous oxide – a drug known as «laughing gas» – in an industrial warehouse in Alhaurín el Grande (Málaga, 26,436 inhabitants), marking the largest police seizure of this substance in all of Europe, as reported by the armed institute on Tuesday. Five people have been arrested. Nitrous oxide is commonly used in food as a preservative, and also has pharmaceutical uses. However, in recent years, it has become popular among young people as a drug, due to its anesthetic and dissociative properties, which cause individuals to experience a strong and short-lived high when ingested. Its uncontrolled consumption can lead to alterations in perception and even trigger a heart attack if mixed with alcohol, which is why its sale for human consumption is illegal. Despite this, it has become a popular form of entertainment on the Costa del Sol, with an affordable price – around five euros per dose – and a significant presence in nightclubs and private parties in luxury villas. The network was led by five individuals of different nationalities – Morocco, the Netherlands, Poland, and Serbia – who have already been arrested. Their headquarters were located in a warehouse in the industrial estate of La Rosa, on the outskirts of Alhaurín el Grande, a municipality in Malaga located inland, but with good connections to the entire coast. The space served as a storage facility. Every night, numerous people would gather near the premises in rental vehicles to load them with bottles of laughing gas. From there, they were distributed throughout the Costa del Sol with the support of shuttle cars. These cars would lead the way to detect any police checkpoints, alerting the others if there were any, thus ensuring the transport of the merchandise. In this case, their destination was leisure venues and nightclubs along the Malaga coast, especially at parties. Police sources explain that in operations carried out in the leisure areas of Marbella, it is «very common» to find laughing gas cylinders in vehicles of small distributors who distribute them on demand. «We find people carrying many bottles, balloons – it is consumed by inhaling it – and other tools, especially in summer in areas like Puerto Banús. Some even carry business cards offering their services. It is something that can be legally purchased, but you must have permits and demonstrate its intended use,» these sources emphasize. With all the information gathered, the agents of the Judicial Police team of the Guardia Civil Company of Coín (Málaga) who led the operation – called Ozal – decided to intervene and entered the industrial warehouse. There, they found 21,302 liters of nitrous oxide distributed in 13,149 bottles of various capacities and 51,840 refill cartridges. «It is the largest seizure in Europe of this type of substance,» the Guardia Civil emphasizes. The five individuals arrested are currently on provisional release. This is the largest, but not the only, police operation carried out on the Malaga coast against a substance that is wreaking havoc. In June 2021, two young people suffered serious injuries after consuming this substance, which is also considered a drug of abuse. At that time, a 16-year-old girl decided to get out of the car in the middle of the highway and then jumped off a nearby bridge after consuming this gas, later not remembering what happened. A day later, a 31-year-old man jumped from a balcony on the third floor after consuming nitrous oxide with his friends. A report published by the Ministry of Health in May of last year also stated that it is «a trendy drug in Europe.»
