The Civil Guard of Ibiza has seized a total of 2,720 boxes containing 16,320 bottles of nitrous oxide, known as ‘laughing gas’, which were stored and had been announced on social networks with messages alluding to “the arrival of summer”, which had alerted the authorities. As reported this Friday by the Armed Institute, after detecting the merchandise, the agents began an extensive investigation, collecting information and documentation on the owner of the boxes, as well as on the packaging and delivery companies involved to follow the traceability of the products. The investigations made it possible to obtain contact information for the owner, a resident abroad, who could not prove the legal entry of the merchandise into Spain. A visual inspection revealed that important data for an import was missing, confirming that the owner was not registered in the health system or as a company in Spain. Regardless of the possible crimes and contraband and tax infractions that the owner could have committed, a complaint has also been filed with the Health and Consumer authorities and the merchandise has been immobilized and the corresponding sanctioning file has been initiated. Nitrous oxide, although it has legal uses in the food and medical industries, has become a trendy recreational drug in Ibiza. Street vendors dispense the gas into balloons, which are then inhaled by users. Despite being considered a substance with few risks and side effects, its consumption in high doses can cause oxygen deficiency in the brain, numbness and difficulties walking. The risks of accidents also increase due to the motor incoordination it causes, according to the Civil Guard.
