Laurence Dollimore
SIX Brits have been arrested after Spanish police seized over 300lbs of marijuana buds destined for the UK.
Police apprehended one suspect on his way to Britain in a rental van, which was found to contain 175lbs of the drug in vacuum-wrapped packages.
Investigators later discovered three indoor cannabis labs designed to home-grow the drug.
More than £36,000, eight vehicles and drug-making equipment were unearthed in Mijas and Casares, where the smuggling gang had set up base.
A Guardia Civil Malaga spokesman said: “This criminal group had extreme security measures in place to avoid detection by law enforcement agencies and were constantly changing drivers and the rental vans they used to transport the drugs.
“The investigation began in January when police became aware of suspicious movement around a property and discovered a gang was growing cannabis there and distributing it to the United Kingdom.
“The drugs were driven to Britain by road, hidden inside rental vans. Investigators stopped one of the suspects when he began his journey.”
The ‘Monteolivo’ operation has seen two British drug smuggling gangs thwarted in the past two months in Malaga.
Three Albanians, a Russian and a Spaniard were also arrested.
British criminals like these add fuel to anti-foreigner nationalistic right wing political sentiments, further staining the reputation of all Brits in southern Spain, deserved or not. This behavior makes life more difficult for all expats regardless of nationality.
The only new thing here, is the production of cannabis in Spain itself, rather than morocco. Calling a grow set-up a “drug laboratory” is a bit grand “The Trail of the Ants”, shipping the gear onwards to Northern Europe, is a well-worn, well known path.
Don’t believe Spanish people get very upset at the “chocolate/hierba” trade. Especially when so many of them enjoy a toke.
Charlie might be a different matter, but that tends to be more of a Hispanic scam.
Mariguana cultivation has been going on for decades in various Spanish mountain ranges. Maybe exporting laboratory weed to the Brits is recent, but not the ‘free range’ stuff.
“Laboratory weed” is a silly tabloid invention. Selective cultivation is more accurate. The male plants are stripped out, preventing pollination. This produces sinsemilla (no seeds) then the plants energy goes into THC production and gives extra weight to the product. Weed instead of seed.
One would not refer to a tomato laboratory, just because some trusses are nipped out in order to produce bigger but fewer tomatoes . Hydroponics are often used for both plants. And peppers and cucumbers and lettuce and a myriad other food and decorative plants, The Dutch are masters of these growing techniques. But that’s all they are, techniques, not some Frankenstein mumbo jumbo.
Laboratory means to me grown within buildings with grow lights as opposed to grown outside on mountain slopes.
maybe. but words matter and “lab” has sinister connotations Daft really.
we have a nice set up here in spain with the clubs etc, sure its grey but some of them do a great job with medical people so most of the ‘cannabis community’ here isn’t too displeased about the trafficking getting stopped. it does drag the name down but i suppose only because of the stigmas anyway. i mean it is only a herb in reality, i dont think its a social problem or anything
A bit of weed in the garden is one thing, an export sales network quite another. Its a social problem when various criminal gangs muscle in to control supply.
The obvious conclusion. Legalisation control, taxation All prohibition breeds criminality.
It’s a great shame that time and tax payers money is wasted on targeting marijuana and hash but that can only be expected when the bungs to corrupt law enforcement are regular and very big from the heroin and cocaine drug barons.
The biggest killers are – alcohol and nicotine by a huge margin as are the profits and taxes.