• The establishment, which appeared to be a cannabis club, was already the subject of a police raid in 2020.

• They advertised online to attract customers, mostly foreign tourists visiting the city.

March 25, 2026. Customs Surveillance officials from the Tax Agency, in a joint operation with agents of the National Police, have arrested six people in the town of Alicante, aged between 23 and 52 years of age, as alleged perpetrators of the crimes of drug trafficking and belonging to a criminal group. The detainees used a private smoking club as a point of sale for narcotics.

The investigation was carried out after receiving information indicating the possible existence of a drug dealing point in a cannabis association located in a central area of ​​the city of Alicante, due to the constant flow of young people who came and, after a short time, left the place hurriedly, which was generating social alarm among the neighborhood.

Therefore, various surveillance operations were carried out in the vicinity of the investigated premises where the sale of narcotic substances could take place under an alleged legal cover.

Indiscriminate sale

As a result of the surveillance carried out, the agents observed the constant flow of people entering and leaving the premises after acquiring the narcotic substance, proving that the club operated as a point of sale where anyone could access to buy the substance and take it away, without needing to be a member or partner of the association.

Furthermore, the investigations revealed a pattern of criminal activity within the investigated cannabis association, which was the subject of a police intervention in 2020 and whose modus operandi remained the same.

Based on all the information gathered, steps were taken to verify the ownership of the premises and the people responsible for the association, as well as to check the corresponding permits and licenses. Thus, it was discovered that the requested activity was not that of a private smoking club and that smoking was not authorized inside the establishment.

Exploitation phase

In the operational phase, a search warrant was requested from the judicial authority, which resulted in the seizure of 517 grams of marijuana, 66 grams of hashish, 75 marijuana cigarettes and 1,300 euros in cash.

During the police operation, officers arrested three people, two men and one woman, for drug trafficking and belonging to a criminal group. Additionally, several customers were found inside consuming narcotic substances and were sanctioned with the corresponding administrative penalty. Furthermore, some of them were not members, nor were they registered in the records of the association under investigation.

Each of those arrested had a role within the association: While one acted as manager, another dispensed the narcotic substance to customers, and the arrested woman was in charge of access control management.

Arrest of the members of the association's governing board

Following the police operation, and considering that the members of the governing board of said association had a possible criminal responsibility, steps were taken that resulted in the arrest of three more people, a man and two women, who held the positions of president, treasurer and secretary of the association, for their participation in an alleged crime of drug trafficking and belonging to a criminal group.

All the police investigations carried out were sent to the Duty Magistrate's Court of Alicante.