Spanish singer Julio Iglesias detained at Punta Cana airport for carrying excess food in luggage

Spanish singer Julio Iglesias at the unveiling ceremony at the Walk of Fame in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2019

The legendary Spanish singer Julio Iglesias was briefly arrested this week at Punta Cana airport in the Dominican Republic for carrying a huge amount of food in his suitcases.

According to Spanish media, Iglesias was arrested with 42kg of all kinds of fruits and vegetables and meat in his luggage, ranging from strawberries, cherries, tomatoes, spinach, lettuce and mushrooms.

Spain’s La Vanguardia reports that the 80-year-old singer regularly travels with abundant quantities of food in his luggage.

It’s understood he landed in the Dominican capital on January 10 having flown from the Bahamas.

Several kilos of food were confiscated and the singer was only briefly detained but he could have been held for a longer period having been caught carrying so much produce.

Rules and regulations

According to the Dominican newspaper Listin Diario which cites the Ministry of Agriculture, the decision was taken to avoid any spread of parasites from abroad which could have harmed local crops. “It’s not about him or anyone in particular, it’s the case for everyone,” said Dominican Agriculture Minister Limbert Cruz.

These inspections have intensified since the intermittent incursion of the Mediterranean fly, whose presence was detected precisely in Punta Cana, says the Dominican daily.