The Civil Guard dismantles an international network dedicated to the cultivation of large-scale marijuana in Almería, Murcia and Alicante
11 people have been arrested in the towns of Níjar (Almería), San Juan, Elda, Petrer, Denia and Campello (Alicante)
They have intervened 53,824 marijuana plants, 71.5 kilograms of hashish, 2.5 kilograms of ecstasy and 33 kilograms of packaged marijuana, 6 vehicles, as well as technological material and a detonating gun
They adopted important security measures and “against surveillance” to hinder police investigation
The Civil Guard, within the framework of the ACANTHA II operation, has dismantled an international network dedicated to the cultivation of large-scale marijuana in the provinces of Almeria, Murcia and Alicante.
He has arrested the 11 members of the network, of Lithuanian and Spanish nationalities, in the towns of Níjar (Almería), San Juan, Elda, Petrer, Denia and Campello (Alicante). Also, during the records, 53,824 marijuana plants, 71.5 kilograms of hashish, 2.5 kilograms of ecstasy and 33 kilograms of packaged marijuana, 6 vehicles, as well as technological equipment and a detonating gun were intervened.
In September 2017, the Civil Guard agents completed the first phase of the operation after locating a set of winter farms in Níjar (Almería) that housed a total of 41,500 marijuana plants.
In this first phase the Civil Guard agents arrested a person who was on the farm and obtained indications of the existence of a network of people who organized themselves engaged in large-scale cultivation of marijuana and drug trafficking.
For all these reasons, the second phase of the operation began in order to determine the existence of an organization that would manage a larger number of marijuana plantations.
Following the first signs, the researchers moved to the town of Campohermoso (Níjar – Almería) where they located a new plantation in the place "La Serrata". This time it was a large greenhouse planted with few tomato plants in the front, with the intention of making it difficult to see from the outside the view of a large marijuana plantation in an advanced state of growth.
On the farm two people were located who, on detecting the police presence, began their escape on separate roads, the first one on foot and the second in a vehicle parked at the rear of the greenhouse that even he ran over an agent in his flight causing minor injuries.
The agents managed to locate and detain the person who undertook the flight on foot, verifying that it was a citizen of Eastern Europe who was in force a European Order of Detention and Delivery from the Belgian authorities.
In this farm they intervened a total of 8,110 marijuana plants in an advanced state of growth and new indications were obtained that indicated that they carried out this illegal activity also in the province of Alicante.
After a study of the information, new lines of research were established to identify all the members of the network. Through a high-tech security device that was used by one of the members of the group that was developing management tasks for the organization, the researchers obtained information regarding activities, places and dates, until they had complete knowledge about the routines and movements of this person
The result of the study of these data led the agents to a cannabis smoking club in San Juan (Alicante). At this point, it was found that the organization was composed entirely of citizens of Eastern Europe, with a homogeneous structure, making rapid and discreet trips to Spain to carry out its activity. To avoid leaving a trace of their presence, they did not register in hotel establishments and made sure that they did not leave seats in databases, which was an added difficulty during the development of the entire investigation.
They took care of all the details to go completely unnoticed
It is also determined that the network rented winter farms away from urban centers and camouflaged crops with others of a legal nature. Likewise, they took care of all the details to go completely unnoticed, even employing members of the network to stock the farm keepers and thus avoid being located outside the greenhouses.
After the pressure exerted in the province of Almeria, the organization moves its activity to the province of Alicante, where they establish as operations center the Smoking Club.
The agents carried out a series of inspections in different farms and homes in the towns of San Juan, Elche, Denia and Petrer, locating in the latter a new plantation with more than 4,000 marijuana plants.
Evidenced the existence of a perfectly organized organization in which each of its members performed previously assigned missions, both in the preparation of the activity and in its execution, the agents close the fence on the members of the network getting, despite the great security measures and "against surveillance", locate and stop them.
For more information you can contact the Peripheral Communication Office of the Almeria Civil Guard Command at 950621956 or 680411337.
