Mothers Testify on Ikastola Drug Scandal
- Al menos dos madres contaron a EITB cómo vivieron sus hijos el crucero escolar de Ikasbidea, ya bajo investigación por drogas y presuntos tocamientos. - El caso ya suma 10 denuncias y 3 mayores de edad investigados; ocho se tramitaron en Barcelona y dos en Vitoria. - La clave ahora es la supervisión del viaje, organizado por familias, y qué revelen los análisis toxicológicos pendientes.
A school trip is supposed to be boring in the best way — a few photos, too much group time, maybe some drama that stays small. This one didn’t. What has now surfaced around the end-of-year cruise taken by students from Ikastola Ikasbidea in Durana, Álava, is much darker: allegations that minors were given alcohol or drugs and that some suffered sexual touching. By May 8, two mothers had gone on EITB to describe what their children told them after the trip, and the story stopped being just a police file. It became a supervision scandal too. ### What exactly is being investigated? The core case is a Mediterranean cruise taken by about 100 minors from Álava, including 4th-year ESO students, roughly 15 to 16 years old, from Ikastola Ikasbidea in Durana and students from Iruña de Oka. Investigators are looking at at least 10 complaints tied to alleged sexual touching and the possible supply of intoxicating substances to minors during the four-day trip, which departed from and returned to Barcelona. (orain.eus) ### Why did the mothers’ testimony matter? Because it gave shape to what had been a blur of accusations. EITB’s piece says some of the teenagers described “the worst night of their lives,” and that after the ship docked they had to remain on board to give statements to the Guardia Civil. That detail matters — it suggests this was treated as serious enough to trigger immediate police action before everyone simply went home. (orain.eus) ### Who are the alleged perpetrators? That part is still messy. The reporting around the case points to people who were not part of the school group but were on the same cruise. Investigators are taking statements from minors and witnesses because the ship also carried many passengers unrelated to the trip. At least 3 young adults over 18 are being investigated, but public reporting has not pinned down a full account of who did what to whom. (orain.eus) ### What do the complaints actually say? They split into two buckets. The complaints filed with the Guardia Civil in Barcelona are described mainly as involving sexual touching. The two complaints filed with the Ertzaintza in Vitoria focus on minors allegedly being forced to consume alcohol and drugs, and one of those also includes threats. The catch is that the suspected drugging piece still depends on toxicology results. (orain.eus) ### Why is supervision such a big issue? Because this does not look like a tightly controlled school operation. EITB reported that the trip was organized by families, and the first alarms came when the teenagers called from the cruise. That changes the accountability question. People will now ask not just whether crimes happened, but who was responsible for oversight on a ship full of minors sharing space with unrelated adult passengers. (orain.eus) ### Which police forces are involved? Both the Guardia Civil and the Ertzaintza. The Guardia Civil in Barcelona is handling the judicial investigation, and the case has already been forwarded to the juvenile prosecutor’s office and the duty court in Barcelona. The Ertzaintza is handling the complaints filed in the Basque Country. That split makes sense because the trip started and ended in Barcelona, but the students and families are from Álava. (orain.eus) ### What still isn’t known? A lot. Public reporting still leaves open whether toxicology tests will confirm drugging, how many minors were directly affected, and whether the investigated adults were passengers, invited outsiders, or something else. Even the count of complaints evolved quickly — early reporting mentioned two, then the total rose to 10. That usually means the picture is still moving. (orain.eus) ### So what’s the real bottom line? This story is no longer just about one terrible night on a cruise. It is about how a trip involving around 100 minors ended up in a setting where police interviews happened before disembarkation and families say their children came back shaken. The criminal investigation will decide individual responsibility. But the public fallout is already here — because once parents hear “worst night of their lives,” the question becomes how this was allowed to happen at all. (orain.eus) (orain.eus)
