Dismantled a criminal organization dedicated to the cultivation and distribution of marijuana on a large scale at European level


Dismantled a criminal organization dedicated to the cultivation and distribution of marijuana on a large scale at European level

The operation “ZUPA-TORO” coordinated by Europol, has proceeded to the arrest of 9 people, all of them of Polish nationality, for the crimes of drug trafficking, money laundering, belonging to a criminal group, falsification of documents, usurpation of civil status and electrical fraud

9 searches have been made in towns in the province of Valencia and Alicante and 1.2 tons of cannabis have been seized, more than 1400 plants and 25 kg of marijuana-derived products

Cash, high-end cars, boats and real estate in Spain have also been seized, all for a value of around 5 million euros








The Civil Guard, together with the National Police and the Polish Police in coordination with Europol, has dismantled an organized criminal group, operating in Poland and Spain, dedicated to crimes against public health and drug trafficking on a large scale.

The international coordination of the investigation was carried out within the framework of Europol. In the operation, nine people were arrested, 2 cannabis plantations were found with more than 1,400 plants and 25 kilograms of marijuana-derived products prepared for distribution.

The group could have introduced into Poland more than 1.2 tons of cannabis worth almost 5,315,000 euros. The assets seized as a result of enrichment by illegal activity are valued at almost five million euros. These include luxury villas in Spain, specifically in Denia. Some of the suspects are related to the environment of the football hooligans of one of the sports clubs in Krakow.
According to the findings so far, the criminal group was engaged in drug trafficking and its wholesale marketing in large quantities of cannabis from Spain to Poland. The detainees are Polish citizens, aged 30 to 45, who lived in both Poland and Spain.
The first investigations revealed that some of the suspects were related to a group of soccer fans, around the hooligans of one of the sports clubs in Krakow. According to the investigators, the criminal group carried out its activity in the years 2016-2021 and during this period it is estimated that they were able to introduce in Poland and put into circulation on the illegal drug market more than 1.2 tons of cannabis with an estimated value of around 5,315,000 euros.
The Alicante National Police and the Valencia Civil Guard, assisted by Police Officers from the CBŚP Field Office in Krakow, initially detained 5 Polish citizens, of which 3 to 3 of them had European Arrest and Extradition Orders. issued by a Polish judicial authorities.
The operation culminated in the execution of a device with which two cannabis plantations were dismantled. In them there were a total of 1,400 marijuana plants in various stages of growth, 25 kilograms of the drug already prepared for distribution, and cash.
At the same time, in Poland, police officers from the CBŚP and the Carpathian Border Guard detained 4 men who allegedly had a defined role within the criminal organization. In the operation, several house searches were carried out in which documentation, electronic equipment, as well as more than 5.5 kg of hashish and 4 liters of liquid amphetamine, from which 16 kg of amphetamine sulfate and more than 3 kg of cannabis (the value of the seized drugs amounts to more than 110,000 euros in market price), in addition, more than 67,000 euros in cash were also intervened.
Poles detained in Spain were subject to extradition proceedings, while those detained in Poland were ordered provisional imprisonment by the court for three months. Seven of them, participants in the large-scale international drug trafficking criminal group, can be sentenced to prison terms of up to 15 years in Poland. Two detainees will be criminally responsible under Spanish law.
As a result of the enrichment of criminal activity, cash, cars, boats and real estate in Spain (including luxury homes) were intervened within the operation for a total value of more than 5 million euros.
This operation has been developed between the Polish and Spanish Security Forces and Bodies with the support of Europol. This action was carried out within the framework of the @ON NETWORK Project – led by the Italian Direzione Investigativa Antimafia (DIA) and funded by the European Union. The main objective of this initiative is to combat high-level organized criminal groups operating in Europe. The project was launched at Europol headquarters in 2018 and includes 27 law enforcement bodies representing 22 countries and Europol.
As a result of this operation, it has been possible to dismantle a criminal organization of 6 men and 3 women of Polish nationality between the ages of 28 and 53, dedicated to drug trafficking on a large scale.
This operation has been directed by the Court of Instruction No. 2 of Denia (Alicante).

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