A priori it was a simple action. One more. A group of people who were dedicated to the retail of different drugs from a couple of homes located in the town of Alhaurín de la Torre (Málaga, 43,674 inhabitants). When the agents arrived, however, they found a sophisticated network of underground vaults and tunnels up to 15 meters long for the cultivation of marijuana. They had been built by the members of the organization themselves to connect the devices necessary for the growth of the cuttings to the electrical network and, also, to join two of the houses to try to mislead police action. They didn’t get it. The Civil Guard has seized 2,300 plants and arrested 11 people, all of Spanish nationality, who had numerous firearms to defend the harvest.
The operation began last spring when the agents found out that there was a group of people dedicated to the retail of different drugs, which were sold in different homes in the Viñagrande neighborhood, in Alhaurín de la Torre, a city in the metropolitan area of the Malaga capital. The investigation revealed the existence of a large movement of people heading to the buildings and, also, “a strong smell of marijuana” that came from inside, as reported by the Civil Guard in a statement. The monitoring of those allegedly responsible for the sale of different narcotic substances also allowed us to discover the existence of more houses dedicated to the growth of cannabis plants, both in the urban area and on the outskirts of the municipality.
The investigation also made it possible to detect a person who was dedicated to maintaining the electrical system of the marijuana plantations. And how he had managed to obtain the necessary electrical power for this illegally. The crops were hidden underground, in basements next to which those responsible for the criminal gang had built tunnels that reached 15 meters in length to reach the public electricity connections. They thus avoided paying for it. Endesa, in fact, reported last week that 52% of the total energy defrauded in the province of Malaga, during the first quarter of 2024, 6.3 million kilowatts, is used for marijuana plantations.
“The surprising thing is that they were long corridors and, furthermore, very dangerous: they could have led to the collapse of some of the houses or even the streets,” explain sources close to the investigation. The criminals had also dug a passage that linked two of the houses where they sold drugs, so that they could transport the drugs without having to go out into the street and also hide in case they were surprised by the security forces. .
The operation, called Granviña, has culminated in the arrest of 11 people, including a minor, who took care of the crops and was also involved in retail sales. The agents have also dismantled six laboratories and seized 2,300 marijuana plants, in addition to a rifle and several firearms. “They used them above all to defend themselves against possible robberies from other criminal organizations,” explain the same sources, who highlight how pistols and rifles have already become common among those dedicated to drug trafficking. Those arrested are charged with the alleged crimes of belonging to a criminal organization, drug trafficking and electricity fraud.
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