The Supreme Court of the Valencian Community (TSJCV) has overturned the acquittal delivered in January 2026 in the case of an attempt to import 117 kilograms of cocaine through the port of Valencia. The decision follows an appeal by the prosecutor’s office: the case is now returned to the provincial court for a new verdict, taking into account all the evidence, including messages from the encrypted messenger Sky ECC.
The TSJCV judicial panel pointed out that the previous court did not fully evaluate the digital evidence obtained from the French authorities under a European Investigation Order. Previously, this data was ruled inadmissible due to the lack of a digital signature, which, according to the court of first instance, made it impossible to guarantee its authenticity and integrity. However, the higher court held that procedural shortcomings do not automatically constitute a violation of the right to a defense if it is not specified which particular data could have affected the outcome of the case.
Arguments of the parties and the court’s position
The defendants’ lawyers insisted they did not have access to the original Sky ECC data, and therefore could not verify its authenticity. TSJCV, for its part, noted that the defense did not specify what information might have been omitted or distorted, and that access to the full archives is limited due to their classification as state secrets and the scale of the investigation—tens of thousands of users worldwide are involved.
The court also stressed that the discovery of drugs in August 2020 was not a direct result of the analysis of Sky ECC correspondence. The cocaine was found during a routine inspection, when one of the containers was discovered to be open. Only later, after receiving information from the police and analyzing Sky ECC data, did the investigation link this episode to a broader potential smuggling scheme, involving up to 1.65 tons of the substance and suggesting the involvement of an organized group with access to the port infrastructure.
Further actions and significance of the decision
The TSJCV required the provincial court to issue a new decision without a retrial, but taking into account all evidence, including Sky ECC correspondence. The higher court emphasized that the defense had full access to the materials, and the investigation was not limited only to decrypting messages—the police carried out additional investigative actions, which made it possible to identify the participants by the device PIN codes.
The TSJCV decision is final and cannot be appealed. Now the fate of the 14 defendants again depends on the assessment of all evidence, including digital data. Similar disputes over the admissibility of electronic evidence have repeatedly been the subject of judicial proceedings in Spain. For example, in another high-profile case—the death of Ilyas Tahiri in a juvenile center in Almeria—the court also dealt with questions about the admissibility and completeness of evidence, as discussed in detail in the report on the proceedings in Almeria.
