Members of the Organized Crime and Anti-Drug Team (EDOA) of the Judicial Police Unit of the Civil Guard in Albacete, within the framework of Operation ‘Larbolas’, have arrested five individuals, alleged perpetrators of various offenses against public health, in the form of drug trafficking, as well as electricity fraud.
This operation is part of the activities that the Civil Guard carries out in the province, with the aim of eradicating the cultivation, production, and distribution of narcotics, in this case cannabis sativa, as reported by the Civil Guard in a press release.
Of the five detainees, aged between 34 and 80, three were responsible for the care and surveillance of the dismantled plantations, while the others were in charge of supplying, maintaining, and controlling the plantations and subsequently marketing the product.
The oldest detainee allowed the upper part of his residence to house indoor marijuana plantations in exchange for a small financial consideration.
The investigations began in October 2024, following information about a possible residence in the Albacete district of El Salobral, whose upper floors were allegedly being used to house an indoor cannabis sativa plantation. From the initial investigations, abnormal movements of the resident, who was frequently visited by two other individuals from Albacete, were observed.
After a laborious and complex investigative process, it was found that the residence was inhabited by an individual who carried out everyday activities with maximum caution to avoid suspicion. Investigators noted the frequent visits of two other individuals, later identified as responsible for checking the status of the plantation.
In addition to this plantation, the Civil Guard was tracking two others located in a suburban area of Albacete. One of them was underground in a plot in a residential area, in a bunker-like space, making it difficult to locate as it appeared to be under construction.
The secrecy of the residence and the strong security measures employed by the individuals in the different plantations made direct observation impossible without attracting police attention, leading the agents to adopt alternative investigative measures to confirm the existence and production of these three indoor cannabis sativa plantations.
REGISTERS AND SEIZED EFFECTS
After gathering evidence of the plantations’ existence, the Civil Guard searched two residences and a bunker where they seized 251 grams of hashish, 1,637 grams of marijuana buds prepared for sale, 660 cannabis sativa plants grown in pots, in an advanced flowering state, weighing 127 kilograms; two precision scales; two long firearms (one real and one simulated), and all necessary elements for the care and maintenance of the plantations.
With the seized buds and useful parts of the plants, 95,000 doses could have been produced after undergoing the necessary processes.
During the searches, the Civil Guard found that the facilities housing the plantations were equipped with the latest technology for indoor cultivation, including irrigation, ventilation, cooling, and lighting systems that accelerated the growth of cannabis sativa plants, thereby increasing their production and yield.
The bunker used for indoor cultivation had approximately 100 square meters, completely covered in cement and reinforced, preventing any loss of moisture and light to the outside. The entire space had a complex ventilation system with an activated carbon filter to neutralize any odor that might escape outside.
ELECTRICITY FRAUD
Furthermore, during the searches, the Civil Guard agents found that the electricity used in the plantations came from illegal connections to the power grid that ran from the main connection point in the public street to the interior of the residences, maximizing profits and minimizing production costs in marijuana cultivation. In addition to the offense against public health, the detainees were also charged with electricity fraud.
Alongside the Organized Crime and Anti-Drug Team (EDOA), who led Operation ‘Larbolas’, members of the Judicial Police Unit, the Citizen Security Unit (Usecic), and the Canine Service with trained dogs for drug detection, all from the Albacete Civil Guard Command, participated in the operation.
The police proceedings, conducted by the Organized Crime and Anti-Drug Team (EDOA) of the Albacete Civil Guard, have been handed over to the Third Instruction Court of Albacete for further action.