Arrested in the Canary Islands: the Atlantic route and the season

Decisions that cannot wait for the next flight

The islands run on timetables, and a stop by customs officers can disrupt them within minutes. The opening decision is whether to answer questions without a lawyer. At an airport or a port, officers ask direct questions about what you carry and where you are going, and an answer given under stress, in a language that may not be yours, is recorded and relied upon later. Answering truthfully about what you carry is a matter by itself. Offering long explanations about where it came from and why is another. A lawyer and an interpreter let you choose how much to say.

The next decision concerns the flight. Many people assume that a journey from the islands to the mainland is a domestic trip, and are astonished to find that it is treated like crossing an external border for customs. If you have been stopped, you may have a ticket for the same day and a strong wish to leave. Leaving without understanding what has been recorded can turn a manageable file into a warrant. Staying costs a flight and a night, but keeps you close to the process.

A further decision concerns goods and cash. If they were taken, proof of where they came from may allow recovery, but only if you can document it. Gather receipts, bank records and statements early.

Finally, consider contact with family. A short message with where you are and that a lawyer is being arranged is enough. Long explanations in group chats are copies waiting to be requested.

Readers who reach this page from an airport, a ship or an apartment

A holidaymaker flying from the islands to the mainland has been stopped at a gate with alcohol, tobacco or cash in a bag. They believed that they were travelling within a single country, and they are now in a customs office, holding a form in Spanish and wondering whether they will miss the flight.

A passenger or a crew member arriving by sea has been stopped at the port. The Atlantic route brings vessels and cargo from many places, and officers are alert to what it can carry. The person did not know what was in a bag or a container, or knew only part of it, and has been asked to explain.

A relative at home has had a confused call from somebody held on an island. They know only that goods, cash or a substance are involved. They want to understand how serious it is, how to reach a lawyer who can be at the station within hours and how to follow events from a distance.

Some readers are residents of the islands, who have lived there for years and now face an inquiry that touches their home, their work or their business. They are not leaving, and the proceedings will find them.

All of them need a clear account of what the paper in their hand is, and what it is not, before deciding anything else.

What a case does to a holiday, a business and a home

For a visitor, an arrest in the islands is a rupture. The holiday ends, accommodation may be lost, and flights are missed. Phones, wallets and bags may be held, which makes it hard to pay, call home or rebook. Prescription medicines can become an urgent problem if they are in a bag the police kept.

For travellers who commute between the islands and the mainland for work, the effect is on the job. A seized bag, a held document or a delay at an airport can lead an employer to ask questions that are hard to answer. Brief, factual notice to an employer, without detail, usually helps.

For residents, effects are longer. Business owners may have stock held, accounts questioned or deliveries delayed. A person who depends on a vehicle may lose its use while it is examined. Housing and family routines may be disturbed, and a pending file can complicate a permit or a licence.

For families abroad, costs mount quickly. Flights are bought at short notice, someone takes time off work and translation and legal costs accumulate. Parents sometimes feel pressed to settle at once with anyone who offers a way out, and that is when mistakes are made.

Tell your lawyer what depends on your timetable, your goods and your documents, so that advice is based on your real circumstances.

Mistakes that are easy to make in an island customs office

• Do not assume the journey is domestic. The islands have their own customs and tax position, and goods and cash moving to the mainland are treated as crossing a boundary.
• Do not guess at amounts. If you do not know how much you carry, say so and ask for the count to be written down.
• Do not sign what you cannot read. Ask for an interpreter and a copy.
• Do not carry a bag or a parcel for somebody else. Whatever is inside becomes your problem.
• Do not discuss the facts in group chats. Messages can be requested and examined.
• Do not delete messages, photographs or call history. Deleting looks like concealment.
• Do not pay a stranger who says that he can arrange release. This is a known route to a worse situation.
• Do not leave without advice. Check what the papers require.

The folder that makes the opening call useful

A clear folder shortens the opening conversation. Gather the following, in paper and as photographs.

• Every paper you were handed. Photograph both sides of each page, including those you cannot read. Dates, stamps and the issuing office matter.
• Identity documents. Passport or identity card, residence papers, driving licence and vehicle papers if relevant.
• Travel records. Tickets, boarding passes, ferry bookings and baggage tags, which show where you were going and when.
• Purchase receipts. For alcohol, tobacco and other goods, proof of where and when they were bought and in what quantities.
• Cash records. Bank statements, withdrawal slips and any document showing where the money came from and what it was for.
• A timeline. Written alone, with times and places, companions and what officers asked.
• Names and contacts. Travelling companions, hosts, hotel staff and any witness.
• Insurance and family details. Policy numbers and emergency lines, and the name of a relative authorised to act for you.

The separate customs status, and what it means across borders

The islands are part of the European Union but sit outside its customs and VAT territory in the ordinary sense. That single fact affects many travellers, and it also affects documents. Receipts from island shops, tax papers and import records may be needed to show how goods were acquired, and they may be in a single language while the lawyer reads another. Translations, and sometimes certified copies, may be needed before an authority relies on them.

The islands are also far from the mainland and from Italy. Distances affect practical matters: post is slow, offices keep their own hours, and a call from a station in the evening may reach a family when offices at home are closed. Agree a rhythm for updates, and name a single person who receives them.

If you are a foreign national, your consulate can be told if you ask. It can contact your family and give a list of lawyers. It does not choose a lawyer, pay for a lawyer or discuss the merits. Consular offices may be on the mainland rather than on the island, which affects how quickly help can arrive.

Where a case crosses a border, a lawyer in Spain and a lawyer in Italy should work together, so that statements made in either place do not damage your position in the other.

Atlantic routes bring vessels and cargo from many places, and an inquiry may involve authorities abroad. Ask your lawyer whether any other country is likely to be interested and how the proceedings would relate.

How the studio takes on a case from the islands

Write or call from anywhere. Give your name, location, whether you are held or free, and the date of the event. Send photographs of every paper. A reply follows promptly, and urgent matters are looked at outside ordinary hours.

The opening call is about facts and options. We ask what you carried, what officers asked and what you signed. We explain what each paper is, what comes next and what each choice costs. We tell you plainly what we do not yet know.

We work in Italian and English. When a Spanish lawyer, an interpreter or a translator is needed, we arrange it and set out the cost beforehand. The mandate is signed by email and costs are agreed in writing before work begins.

We coordinate with a lawyer in the islands, so that strategy is agreed and you receive a single account. We write to ask for records to be preserved where that is appropriate. The studio has offices in Rome, Milan and Naples, and meetings can be held by video for families and for people on the islands.

We do not forecast results. We describe procedure, set out options and leave the decision to you.

Questions worth asking before you leave the island

• Is the paper in my hand a customs notice, a charge or a summons, and which authority issued it?
• Since the islands have their own customs position, what was I required to declare, and how was the amount assessed?
• If goods or cash were taken, how can I show where they came from, and how long does recovery usually take?
• If I was carrying a bag for a companion, what is the position of each of us?
• Can I leave the islands, and how will notices reach me if I do?
• If the case touches a substance, what does the file need to show about quantity and purpose?
• If I am a resident, what could this mean for my business, my licence or my permit?
• Will any record appear in my own country?
• What will you need from me each week, and how will you report back?

Words on island customs papers

• Customs and VAT territory. The area in which standard customs and sales tax rules apply. The islands lie outside it in the ordinary sense, which is why goods moving to the mainland are checked.
• Allowance. The quantity of goods, alcohol or tobacco that a traveller may carry without paying duty or making a declaration.
• Declaration obligation. The duty to state cash above a set amount when crossing a boundary.
• Customs offence. A matter about goods or cash moving in excess of what is allowed or without declaration.
• Seizure. Taking of goods, cash or a vehicle by the authorities pending a decision.
• Police custody. A hold by the police that the law limits strictly, counted from the moment of detention.
• Summons. A formal order to appear or answer, which should never be left unanswered.