Joint operation between the Tax Agency and Mossos d'Esquadra

• Officials from the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency and the Mossos d'Esquadra arrested 56 people, including the heads of the organization, and dismantled 24 plantations with 22,600 plants and 166 kilos of buds

• The joint and coordinated investigation confirms that the marijuana business continues to take root in Catalonia and that criminal organizations are establishing themselves in the territory to grow and export marijuana to Europe.

• The leaders of the criminal group enjoyed a high standard of living and one of them had legally acquired a restaurant business.

• To start the plantations, the organization legally rented properties with the option to buy at a price of between 1,500 and 2,000 euros.

• One of the common links around which the different plantations pivoted was the figure of a professional electrician, who was also arrested, and who optimally designed and installed irrigation and lighting facilities.

• They mainly cultivated the 'amnesia' and 'critical' marijuana varieties, characterized by being very potent, with a good production capacity, easy to grow and with a sale price that ranged between 2,300 and 2,500 euros per kilo.

• The substance was transported to countries in northern Europe where its price could increase three or four times as much.

• Some of the members of the organization lived in very precarious living conditions and in many cases were subject to the control of their bosses.

• Of those arrested, 90% had no police record and 13 have been sent to prison, the typical profile being that of a man under 35 years of age, a foreigner and without a municipality of residence.

• During the time the investigation lasted, at least one assault by another organization or rival group was reported, and different firearms and bladed weapons, such as katanas, were found at the entrances.

June 16, 2022.- Officials of the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency and agents of the Generalitat Police - Mossos d'Esquadra of the Criminal Investigation Division, have dismantled one of the largest criminal networks dedicated to the trafficking and cultivation of marijuana established throughout Catalonia and have arrested 56 people, between 19 and 58 years old, who are accused of crimes against public health, in the area of drug trafficking, belonging to a criminal organization and electricity fraud.

On May 24, a joint and coordinated operation between the two police forces that was carried out in different municipalities in Catalonia ended with the dismantling of the criminal organization and the arrest of 56 people, among whom were the leaders of the organization. A total of 37 searches were also carried out, 24 plantations were dismantled and more than 22,600 plants and 166 kilos of buds prepared for sale were seized. The seized drugs have an approximate value on the black market of around 325,000 euros.

During the operation, the agents found a total of 225,765 euros in cash, a shotgun, a revolver with live ammunition, an air pistol and various knives.

Once the plantations have been dismantled, the recovered properties will be returned to their owners as the judicial authority so determines. The installation of lighting and irrigation systems had seriously damaged their state of conservation, since in many cases modifications had been made to the buildings to adapt them to the plantations, knocking down walls, making holes in doors, windows or ceilings, and damaging electrical installations, among other interventions.

The profile of the detainees is that of a man under 35 years of age, a foreigner, with no municipality of residence and no police record with the Mossos d'Esquadra. Specifically, nearly 90% of those arrested had no criminal record. Thirteen of the 56 arrested were sent to prison once they were brought before a court. According to researchers, they would be part of the core of the leadership that made the most strategic decisions.

The volume of business of marijuana producers

After analysing the different samples of marijuana seized in police operations to determine the percentage of the active ingredient THC, it is estimated that, under normal conditions such as those found in the dismantled plantations, for every 500 plants in the advanced flowering phase, an average of 10 kilos of dried marijuana suitable for sale are obtained.

Since this investigation was launched, around May 2021, the criminal organization would have had time to make three plantations with their subsequent harvests.

Given this fact, and taking into account that 22,600 plants were seized at a pre-flowering stage, analysts assume that the organisation would have had the capacity to produce around 1,275 kilos of marijuana per year, which would imply a wholesale price of around 3.1 million euros.

Once transported to northern European countries, its retail price increases three or fourfold, increasing profits to between nine and twelve million euros, with the resulting increase in profitability that comes with selling to foreign markets.

Study of electricity fraud

A total of 50 technicians from the electricity company Endesa also participated in this operation to check the installations and check for electricity fraud. In this regard, of the 29 inspections carried out at the different locations investigated, fraud was detected in 28, and only one was legal. The 28 inspections where irregularities were detected corresponded to plantations, while in the other case it was a home where no crops were grown.

The total amount of energy defrauded is 4.39 GWh, equivalent to the consumption of 1,256 homes, assuming an annual consumption of 3,500 kWh/home. The amount of energy defrauded amounts to more than one and a half million euros.

An anonymous tip triggers investigation

The investigation, supervised by the Central Court of Instruction number 1 of the National Court, was activated in mid-May last year following anonymous information alerting the Mossos d'Esquadra that suspicious and possibly criminal activity was taking place in an industrial warehouse in Sant Vicenç de Castellet (Bages, Barcelona). The investigators were able to confirm this information and also gathered evidence that pointed to the commission of further crimes against public health in other parts of Bages, and later in the rest of Catalonia.

As the investigation progressed, new lines of work were opened, each with its own particularities, but all pointing to and outlining a single criminal structure that led the different plantations that were being discovered throughout the territory.

The joint investigation team linked the crops located until they confirmed that the organization had spread throughout Catalonia.

According to the researchers, the fact that the crops were spread out across the territory was due to the need to diversify the risks so that, in the event of a local or regional police intervention, the production and distribution structure would always remain active. The operation on May 24 allowed the dismantling of the entire criminal structure operating at the various active points maintained by the organization.

The functioning of the organization

The leaders of the criminal group, despite being foreigners, were settled in Catalonia and enjoyed a high standard of living. They had established themselves in the districts of Gerona and Tarragona, where it was possible to determine that one of their members legally acquired a restaurant establishment.

Once they had decided on the locations where they would set up the plantations, the members of the group legally rented properties, in some cases high-end and with an option to buy, at a price of between 1,500 and 2,500 euros. The owners of the properties were unaware of the illegal activity that was taking place.

At this point, one of the common links on which the different plantations pivoted was the figure of a professional electrician, who initially tapped into the power supply stations and provided the premises and houses with the power necessary to serve the plantation.

He also optimally designed and installed irrigation and lighting systems to increase production and reduce harvest time to a minimum. For example, plantations combined more common lighting systems, such as sodium bulbs, with LED lighting systems.

In parallel with the launch of the plantation, the leaders imported 'gardeners' from their country of origin to defend the plantations against possible attacks by another organisation. During the time the investigation lasted, an assault by another organisation or rival group was reported in the town of Sant Vicenç de Castellet in April. It so happened that the attackers gained access to a disused building near one of the plantations, which the organisation no longer used, and they did not achieve their objective.

The workers who worked on the plantations were foreign men, brought to Catalonia by the structure of the organisation, which is why nearly 90% had no police record. They were in charge of the plantation and its security, in very precarious living conditions and in many cases subject to the control of the members of the organization.

They mainly grew two genetically modified marijuana varieties called 'amnesia' and 'critical'. These two varieties are characterised by their powerful effects, ease of cultivation, short flowering and high potential production, with a black market price ranging between 2,300 and 2,500 euros per kilo. This price is significantly above the average established in European price standards for this substance.

The drugs were mainly transported to the European market by road, although in this particular case investigators were also able to detect links with a shop supplying material for marijuana cultivation.

The money they obtained from the illegal sale of marijuana generated mostly net profits, of which a small part was reinvested, mainly in the production of more plantations. Investigators found that at least one member of the group had acquired a construction and furniture sales company in his home country.

Repetition of criminal patterns

Analysts have estimated that this criminal group repeats the patterns that have been recorded in the various investigations carried out over the last year.

International criminal organisations that produce and distribute marijuana see Catalonia as the ideal market where they can initially acquire marijuana and then start growing it, establishing themselves in Catalan territory as in the case under investigation.

This stage of implementation in Catalonia increases in level when violence between different groups comes into play and attacks occur between organisations to steal the substance from another producer, instead of having to grow it, dry it and package it.

Once established and operating, the organisations set their tentacles in Catalonia through, above all, the acquisition, always legally, of real estate, businesses and other properties that are used to launder, at least in part, the money obtained from the illicit business. Another part of the profits was also invested abroad. An investigation is currently underway to determine whether the dismantled criminal organisation was already at that stage.

To carry out their activity, the criminals requested the services of various professionals from different sectors. Some, such as lawyers, gardeners or electricians, are aware of criminal activity and others are not, such as landlords, transporters, etc.

The investigation remains open.