Alex Trelinski
RESIDENTS of a tiny Alicante province town were shocked to discover an international drugs gang operating from an isolated finca.
A joint operation by the Guardia Civil and Policia Nacional dismantled the crew in Millena- a municipality with just over 200 inhabitants.
Four people- two Albanians and two Dutch- have been arrested and a large indoor marijuana farm closed down.
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Around 800 marijuana plants were seized with the group paying an annual property rental fee of €18,000- split into six-monthly cash transactions.
The crew maintained constant security measures and made frequent trips between Spain and several European countries including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and France to distribute narcotics.
Some of them had criminal records and prison sentences pending abroad for drug crimes.
Investigations started in October, and when it came to the arrests, the police encountered resistance in Millena last month.
Two Albanian men, both aged 25, fled by smashing down a plasterboard wall at the finca and running through adjoining terraces.
With the help of a drone, officers caught and restrained them after they put up ‘significant resistance’.
A Dutch man, 25, was detained close to the finca, and his partner, a woman aged 29, was arrested in Alcoy.
A court denied bail for the Albanians but did grant it to the Dutch couple.
Authorities said it was ‘major blow’ against organised crime in Alicante province and have not ruled out making further arrests.
