MADRID (AP) — Spanish police announced Saturday they arrested three men on suspicion of shipping dried opium poppy capsules by mail across Spain and abroad, including to the United States.

The three were arrested in January and have remained in custody since then, the Civil Guard said in a statement. They were charged with crimes against public health for drug trafficking.

The investigation began in September 2025 after the interception of four postal shipments containing almost 7 kilograms (15.4 pounds) of plant-based substances at the Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport, the gateway to Alicante and the Costa Blanca area in southeastern Spain.

Analysis determined that the substance was “Papaver somniferum,” also known as opium poppy, a plant directly linked to the production of opium and its derivatives, the statement said.

Investigators noted that the same surname was used on all the shipments, both for the senders and recipients. It was also verified that all the packages had been sent from different addresses, located in the municipality of Los Alcázares, in the Murcia region.

The operation led to the identification of three men from the same clan, all born in India, who were arrested and a stash of 527 kilograms (about 1,161 pounds) of Papaver somniferum was seized.

After consulting police databases, investigators verified that the three men had been linked to recent thefts of opium poppy from legal plantations intended for pharmaceutical use and located in the province of Albacete.

“In Spain there are legal crops of this plant intended for pharmaceutical use,” said Guardia Civil spokesman Álvaro Gallardo. “But there are many people who extract opium completely illegally for consumption or trafficking, something dangerous if done uncontrollably, since it is a narcotic substance.”

The three detainees were brought before the investigating court of the judicial district of Elche, which ordered their imprisonment.

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Associated Press journalist Giada Zampano, in Rome, contributed.