A joint operation by the Tax Agency and the Guardia Civil

• Three searches have been carried out in which 716 marijuana plants, six kilos of buds and more than 6,000 euros in cash have been seized

• In addition, various machinery used to modify substances derived from cannabis and increase their levels of active ingredient has been seized.

July 20, 2023.- Customs Surveillance officials from the Tax Agency and agents from the Civil Guard, in a joint operation called 'Lobo', have arrested four people related to several marijuana plantations, a clandestine laboratory and a cannabis club located on the island of Tenerife.

The operation took place on June 12, when members of both forces proceeded to enter and search, in the towns of San Andrés and Abades (Tenerife), a cannabis club and two addresses that concealed a clandestine laboratory and several indoor cannabis plantations. The agents had confirmed that the club was selling narcotic substances to be consumed by non-members outside the premises.

As a result of the searches, four people were arrested who were inside the buildings carrying out custody and surveillance work, as well as cultivation, processing and sale of narcotic substances. Among those arrested is an Italian citizen who had been advertising himself on social media and at various events where he was a speaker as “the best extractor and 'biotechnology' man” of hashish resin, a name he gave himself to highlight his work in enhancing the active ingredient (tetrahydrocannabinol, THC) and, therefore, the effects of the product on the human body.

The searches resulted in the seizure of 716 marijuana plants, six kilos of packaged marijuana buds, 146 grams of hashish, 628 grams of hashish resin, 100 grams of pollen, 50 grams of hallucinogenic mushrooms, 28 manufactured cigarettes for consumption, 112 jars of hashish resin with a high concentration of THC and 6,490 euros in cash.

In addition, various materials were seized, including a hydraulic press and a valuable freeze-drying machine, used to subject cannabis plants to processes aimed at obtaining the highest quality resin, hashish and pollen.

Products modified to reinforce their effects

The agents confirmed that the marijuana-derived products found had been modified through different processes to enhance their active ingredient and thus produce greater effects.

The detainees were taken to the Tax and Border Section of the Civil Guard in the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where proceedings were initiated, together with the Customs Surveillance Operational Unit, and the detainees and their belongings were subsequently placed at the disposal of the court in Investigative Court number 4 of Granadilla de Abona, Tenerife.