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Dismantled a family clan that cultivated and exported marijuana by road to Lyon and Montpellier

Joint operation of the Tax Agency and Mossos d'Esquadra

  • The investigation arose from information obtained during the 'Alba Case', a joint operation by Customs Surveillance and Mossos d'Esquadra in June 2022 in several regions of Catalonia, where 24 plantations that produced 1,275 kilos of marijuana were dismantled. year
  • The group, which operated from the regions of La Selva and Gironès, regularly transported marijuana by road to Lyon and Montpellier, although it also supplied drugs to local sellers.
  • The investigators have arrested 13 people and seized 11 kilos of marijuana buds with a value in the illicit market of 72,400 euros, 925 grams of hashish valued at 31,000 euros, 3,000 marijuana plants in different stages of flowering and growth and 30,000 euros in cash
  • Six of the detainees were handed over to the court leading the case, the Investigative Court 6 of Blanes, and were released with charges and precautionary measures.

March 10, 2023.- Customs Surveillance Officials from the State Tax Administration Agency, together with agents from the Mossos de Esquadra of the Criminal Investigation Division (DIC), have dismantled a criminal organization dedicated to marijuana trafficking and have arrested 13 people, who are accused of the crimes of belonging to a criminal group, against public health in the area of drug trafficking and electricity fraud.

Of these 13 arrests, seven were annulled and the rest, five men and one woman between 22 and 41 years old, were brought to justice and released with charges and precautionary measures.

The investigation arose from information obtained from the 'Alba Case', an investigation from June 2022, where 24 plantations that produced 1,275 kilos of marijuana per year were dismantled with a sale price in the illicit wholesale market of more than 3 million euros. The investigators obtained evidence of the criminal activity of one of the people related to the dismantled group in Solsona (Lleida) and this fact led them to that group.

A family clan that operates as a company

The different members of this group formed several stable networks and carried out perfectly differentiated tasks that gave them a high degree of specialization in their functions. They had no other source of income outside of criminal activity and among the six detainees who were brought to justice, only the head of the organization had a police record.

One of the members of the group served as leader and directed the criminal activity of the entire organization. It was responsible for providing the economic capital necessary for the acquisition or rental of real estate and adapting the spaces and facilities necessary for its cultivation. On the other hand, the leader of the group, who also managed his own plantations, provided material, spaces, logistics and financial support to other members of the same network and other people outside the group, in exchange for a specific financial remuneration. He also planned and executed drug transport by road to France.

On a lower step was the leader's trusted man, who was in charge of distributing the material necessary for the plantations. In addition, he also packaged and prepared the drugs for distribution. He was also the person who acted as a liaison between the organization and potential buyers and participated in the logistics of the transactions, the routes, the vehicles used and, in addition, supported the people who carried out the transports. He was knowledgeable about all levels of the group: from the most directive and the most operational and technical aspects, in terms of plantations.

Just below there were a series of people who performed other functions of a more secondary nature or subordinated to the organization's strategy. One of those investigated, who also managed several plantations, stood out for his high level of knowledge in the marijuana cultivation process and was in charge of tending to the plantations when they had productivity problems. The rest of the members of the group managed other plantations of the organization and also helped transport the drugs with vehicles, in addition to managing the accounting.

Trips to France with security measures

The group, which operated mainly from the regions of La Selva and Gironès, regularly transported marijuana by road to Lyon and Montpellier, although the end-use of some of the drugs that arrived in France could also end up in other countries in the region. center of Europe. However, the organization also supplied drugs to local sellers.

Travel was a key moment in the organization's logistics and its members took many precautions. The shipments were prepared with great care, both by the leader of the organization and by his lieutenant. They used two vehicles, one advanced, which reported on all possible unforeseen events that could arise, and another, which circulated a few kilometers behind, which was the one that transported the drugs.

The organization took many surveillance and self-protection measures. In order to raise less suspicion while traveling, they had several vehicles with which they carried out surveillance to detect a possible police presence.

They also used a large number of telephones that they replaced periodically to make police work and the possible location of the plantations more difficult.

Research Exploitation

On February 15, after having obtained sufficient evidence of the criminal activity of the members of the group, the joint investigation team formed by both forces, with the collaboration of the Maçanet de la Selva Local Police, will carry out the exploitation of the case and made nine entries and investigations, both in homes and indoor plantations, located in the Girona municipalities of Maçanet de la Selva, Sils, Sant Martí de Llémena and Olot.

More than eleven kilos of marijuana buds were seized with a value in the illicit market of 72,400 euros, 925 grams of hashish valued at 31,000 euros and 25 grams of cocaine valued at 1,500 euros. Nearly 30,000 euros in cash and nearly 3,000 marijuana plants in different stages of flowering and growth were also seized. The technicians of the electricity supply company estimated the study of the fraud of electricity in the plantations at around 235,000 euros.

On February 17, the six detainees were brought to justice and released with charges and precautionary measures.

Filming of operation (to download the video you must enter the following web address):

https://we.tl/t-6mKnrXF8dS