• The main leaders of the organizations were arrested and narcotics with an illicit market value of one and a half million euros were seized, while it is estimated that almost 600,000 euros is the value of fraud against the electricity grid committed.

June 6, 2025.- Customs Surveillance officers from the Tax Agency and Mossos d'Esquadra agents carried out a joint operation in Catalonia in which they dismantled two criminal organizations dedicated to trafficking marijuana and hashish. The organizations' top leaders have been arrested, and narcotics worth one and a half million euros have been seized from the illicit market. This operation follows the one carried out by the Mossos d'Esquadra, also on June 3, which led to the dismantling of a third organization, this time dedicated to international arms and drug trafficking.

The operation that led to the dismantling of the two organizations dedicated to marijuana and hashish trafficking, a joint operation between the Tax Agency's Customs Surveillance and the Girona DIC of the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan Police), was carried out on June 3rd from early in the morning, with 17 raids on homes and residences where the suspects were growing large quantities of marijuana. The operations took place in the towns of Calonge, Lloret de Mar, Maçanet, Llagostera, Gavà, Marganell, Mataró, Cabrils, Dosrius, Pineda de Mar, Gualba, Rubí, Martorelles, and El Vendrell, resulting in 18 arrests and the seizure of more than 4,700 plants, 55 kilos of marijuana buds, half a kilo of cocaine, more than €19,000 in cash, and five firearms.

The amount of drugs seized throughout the investigation has a value of more than €1,400,000 on the illicit market. Furthermore, electrical fraud totaling nearly €600,000 was confirmed at all locations investigated.

In early May 2024, the Sant Feliu de Guíxols Investigation Unit of the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan Police) detected a possible indoor marijuana plantation in two homes in Calonge, with the resulting electrical fraud common in this type of crime. Initial investigations led to the identification of a group of individuals and vehicles previously linked to crimes against public health.

Meanwhile, the Tax Agency's Customs Surveillance Service in Girona was conducting an investigation into an organization that may be carrying out drug trafficking activities in other parts of Catalonia. Customs Surveillance had detected a vehicle in a home in the town of Calonge that had previously been located at another marijuana plantation dismantled by the Barcelona Customs Surveillance Unit.

At that point, both bodies agreed on the investigation and formed a joint team, initially with the Sant Feliu de Guíxols Investigation Unit and later with the Criminal Investigation Department of the Mossos d'Esquadra (Mossos d'Esquadra) of the Girona Police Region.

Transporters and 'gardeners'

Investigators identified two criminal organizations that collaborated in the field of drug trafficking: one, dedicated to the transfer and distribution of the drug, the other, in charge of the maintenance of the crop and the coordination of the 'gardeners' located in each plantation.

The network was also linked to trafficking in other drugs, such as hashish. Proof of this is that, during the investigation, one of the main members was arrested in Salt (Girona) by a citizen security patrol. The officers stopped the van in which the individual was traveling and, after detecting inconsistencies in his statement, searched the vehicle. The van, visibly modified, featured a double bottom between the seating area and the rear cabin. There, plastic bags containing 100 kilos of hashish were found, neatly arranged in packages of the same size. This person was arrested for a crime against public health.

Another of those investigated was arrested weeks later in Blanes, this time for threats and illegal weapons possession. In the midst of an argument that took place in an industrial park, the individual threatened three people with a firearm, which witnesses said he used to fire a shot. Officers located the weapon in a nearby area, and subsequent viewing of security cameras proved who was responsible for the crime and identified and arrested the perpetrator.

Eleven homes with active plantations

Advances in the investigation determined that the criminal organization had eleven homes operating with marijuana plantations inside. In addition, it was also linked to three other locations where crops had previously been dismantled. All these points were located mainly in the provinces of Girona and Barcelona.

On May 8, as part of the investigation, an initial raid was carried out at one of the locations investigated in Blanes. Following the detection of electrical fraud, an entry and search of the home was authorized, resulting in one arrest and the discovery of 39 kilos of marijuana buds, as well as items typical of an indoor plantation, such as lamps, transformers, air filters, and fans.

The criminal network operated with multiple vehicles, which they used to frequent various grow shops where they purchased materials to maintain the productivity of the plantations. In addition, they also rented vans to transport installation and maintenance materials.

Four-level hierarchical structure

The network maintained a strong hierarchical structure, with a leader responsible for facilitating the export of the cultivated product and assisted by another member responsible for logistical support, especially the transportation of the drugs to buyers, as well as the management of the vehicles used by the organization. A third profile was responsible for the care of the plantations and the rental of housing for new installations. At the lowest level of the structure were the so-called 'gardeners', who were responsible for monitoring and protecting the plantations at all times from inside the homes.

Most of the searches were carried out in homes with many common elements. These were multi-story single-family homes with a large number of rooms, which the organization used to divide the different stages of the production process. In most of them, the agents found marijuana in different stages of cultivation: small cuttings, plants in an advanced stage of flowering and buds ready for distribution.

Even in some entrances, empty rooms were found, but fully prepared for new plantations, which was evidence of the criminal organization's constant drug production.

The searches also yielded accounting sheets and handwritten notes referring to other plantations, as well as cash, half a kilo of cocaine, and five firearms (three pistols and two shotguns).

The 18 detainees, some of whom had prior drug trafficking convictions, were brought before a court on June 5 in various courts in Catalonia. They are charged with crimes against public health, illegal possession of weapons, membership in a criminal organization, and electricity fraud.