A passenger has been arrested at Palma de Mallorca Airport after a radiological examination allegedly revealed that he was carrying dozens of drug packages concealed inside his body.

The operation took place after Spanish authorities received information about a traveller suspected of using internal concealment to transport narcotics into Mallorca.

A total of 109 packages were subsequently recovered from inside the man's body, containing a white rocky substance that tested preliminarily as compatible with cocaine. The packages had a combined gross weight of approximately 1,353 grams.

The passenger had arrived from Belgium

The 46-year-old man, who is of Nigerian nationality, arrived at Palma Airport during the night of September 6 on a flight from Charleroi, Belgium.

Information received by the Guardia Civil, National Police and Customs Surveillance Service led authorities to activate a joint operation to identify and locate him upon arrival.

The three services worked together during the airport operation.

An X-ray revealed numerous objects inside his body

After being intercepted at the airport, the passenger was taken to the Traveller Customs facilities, where he underwent a radiological examination.

The X-ray showed numerous foreign objects inside his body. Their shape and distribution were considered compatible with packages used to transport drugs internally.

The findings led officers to arrest the passenger and arrange his transfer to hospital.

109 packages were recovered at the hospital

The man was transferred to Son Espases University Hospital, where he remained under medical supervision and police surveillance.

The packages were expelled naturally in several stages under medical supervision.

A total of 109 “bellotas”, the term commonly used in Spanish police reporting for this type of internally concealed drug package, were eventually recovered.

Preliminary testing indicated that the white substance inside the packages was compatible with cocaine. The total gross weight was approximately 1.353 kilograms.

A potentially dangerous method of transporting drugs

Concealing narcotics inside the body, sometimes referred to as body packing, creates significant medical risks for the person carrying them.

Packages must be carefully prepared and remain intact while inside the body. If a package ruptures, the person can be exposed to a potentially lethal concentration of the drug.

This is why suspected body-packers may require hospital observation while the packages are being recovered.

In this case, the passenger remained under medical supervision during the entire expulsion process.

A joint operation involving three authorities

The arrest involved the Guardia Civil, Policía Nacional and the Servicio de Vigilancia Aduanera.

According to the authorities, the operation began with information received through the central services of the three organisations about a traveller suspected of transporting drugs internally.

The coordinated response allowed officers to identify the passenger when he arrived at Palma Airport and conduct the subsequent examination.

The passenger has been sent to prison

After the medical procedure and completion of the police investigation at that stage, the man was brought before the judicial authorities.

The duty judge ordered his provisional imprisonment.

He is being investigated for an alleged drug-trafficking offence, while the judicial proceedings will determine the final legal consequences of the case.

The incident happened in Mallorca, not Ibiza

The case is particularly relevant to the Balearic Islands' wider fight against drug trafficking, but it is important to clarify that the arrest took place at Palma de Mallorca Airport, not Ibiza Airport.

The passenger arrived in Mallorca on a flight from Charleroi, and there is no indication in the available police information that this particular shipment entered Ibiza.

This distinction is important because drug seizures at the airports and ports of the Balearics involve different operations and routes.

A major seizure using internal concealment

The recovery of 109 individual packages represents a substantial body-packing operation.

At approximately 1.35 kilograms gross, the seizure demonstrates how organised drug trafficking can involve sophisticated methods of concealment designed to evade conventional checks.

In this case, specialist intelligence and the subsequent X-ray examination allowed authorities to identify the suspected internal concealment.

Part of wider efforts to intercept drugs entering the islands

The operation forms part of ongoing work by Spanish law-enforcement agencies to detect narcotics entering the Balearic Islands through their main transport routes.

Airports are particularly important points of control because international flights provide direct connections between the islands and numerous European destinations.

Joint operations between police, Guardia Civil and Customs Surveillance allow authorities to combine intelligence, airport controls and specialist investigations.

The investigation now moves into the judicial phase

With the suspect in provisional custody, the investigation will now focus on establishing the circumstances surrounding the alleged trafficking operation.

Authorities will seek to determine the origin and intended destination of the cocaine and whether the arrested passenger was acting independently or as part of a wider network.

Those questions will form part of the ongoing judicial proceedings.

A case that highlights the risks of body packing

The Palma airport arrest demonstrates both the lengths traffickers may go to in order to conceal narcotics and the potentially serious health consequences of doing so.

The use of an X-ray was crucial in identifying the presence of the packages, while the subsequent hospital supervision was necessary to safely recover them.

For now, 109 suspected cocaine packages have been seized and a 46-year-old man is in provisional custody as the judicial investigation continues.

The case also serves as a reminder that, while drug trafficking operations occur across the Balearic Islands, the location of each individual seizure matters.

In this instance, the airport operation happened in Palma de Mallorca, not Ibiza.