Operation against drug trafficking

• Four people of different nationalities arrested
• More than 5,000 plants have been seized in three searches carried out in Hospitalet de Llobregat and Granollers
• During one of the searches, the detainees broke the plantation's water pipes to flood the premises and prevent the operation.

May 31, 2023.- Customs Surveillance officials from the Tax Agency in Catalonia have dismantled three plantations dedicated to the intensive cultivation of marijuana in the province of Barcelona, with the intervention of 5,312 marijuana plants and the arrest of four people.

The first of the interventions of the operation, called 'Primavera', took place in an industrial warehouse in Hospitalet de Llobregat on April 18, where investigators discovered a large 'indoor' plantation in the basement of the aforementioned warehouse, to which the electricity supply arrived through a tunnel that had been made to prevent the illegal connection from being seen. A total of 1,931 marijuana plants were seized and two Chinese nationals were arrested.

When the Customs Surveillance officers intervened, the detainees broke the water pipes to flood the premises and prevent the operation, which made it necessary for the services of the water supply company and the Local Police of Hospitalet de Llobregat to intervene.

The next of the interventions took place on May 3 in a farmhouse located in a rural setting near Granollers and away from other buildings, thus seeking maximum discretion. A total of 1,455 plants were seized at this farmhouse and one Albanian national was arrested. To protect the farmhouse, the organization also had two dangerous breed dogs that were handed over to an animal protection association.

Plantation with high sophistication and efficiency

The last of the operations was carried out on May 26 in another warehouse in the same municipality of Hospitalet de Llobregat, where 1,926 plants were found in addition to 5,687 grams of buds and 4,404 grams of chopped marijuana. A Spanish citizen was arrested in this intervention.

On this occasion, the plantation attracted attention due to its sophistication, with different facilities depending on the type of plant and state of growth and the use of different substances and chemical products to make the cultivation of marijuana more efficient, to the point that at the initial moment of registration doubts arose as to whether it could be a legal facility, a fact that was ruled out.

A total of 40 Catalan Customs Surveillance personnel participated in the operation with the support of the Drone Unit and the Intervention Group.

The aim of this type of operation is to intensify actions against this type of criminal activity, in which criminal organisations and groups of different nationalities participate and which already supply countries around the world, although the main market is national and European.