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Date Published: 07/06/2021
ARCHIVED - Police in Almeria seize over 60,000 cannabis plants in drug trafficking operation
The war on drugs continues in Almeria, with police dismantling a criminal group sending marijuana to Italy
The Guardia Civil in Almeria have made the results from important anti-drug trafficking operations public this Monday (June 7). In one of the recent operations, code-named ‘Virgil’, officers seized over 60,000 cannabis plants found on a raid of a rural property in Lucainena de la Torre.
During an inspection to control the cultivation of marijuana carried out on an industrial scale, officers found a greenhouse containing a large amount of cannabis crops in an advanced state of growth.
Although growing hemp for industrial purposes, such as the production of fibre or seeds, is permitted in Spain, as is the growth of hemp for scientific, medical or research purposes, the contents of this greenhouse were clearly destined for illicit purposes.
A second operation, named ‘Menthan’, has resulted in the dismantling of a criminal group operating in Almeria, made up of Albanian citizens. As part of the drug trafficking operation, nine people have been arrested and 400 kilos of hashish, which were due to be transported to Italy, were seized.
This operation began in April last year (2020), when officers detained a person transporting 26 kilos of cannabis during a traffic control on the A-92. From there, officers were able to unravel the sophisticated criminal organization which was sending hashish and marihuana to other countries and which had connections to the Italian mafia.
Drug trafficking in the province of Almeria has been on the rise in recent years, partly due to the increase in the cultivation of cannabis and the development of large distribution networks, usually run by gangs from abroad with ready-made outlets and seeking a ready supply. This rise has forced the Guardia Civil to reinforce their efforts to detect this type of crime.
As part of the war on drugs in Almeria, the Guardia Civil has detained 100 people and investigated five people for crimes relating to drug trafficking in the first semester of 2021. In addition, during the same period of time, over 17,000 marihuana plants, 188,579 hemp plants and 250 kilos of buds have been seized in 63 different police interventions.
Image: Guardia Civíl; Operación Virgil, Almeria.
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