Joint operation between the Tax Agency and Mossos d'Esquadra

• The investigation arose from information obtained during the 'Alba Case', a joint operation by Customs Surveillance and Mossos d'Esquadra in June 2022 in several districts of Catalonia, where 24 plantations that produced 1,275 kilos of marijuana per year were dismantled.
• The group, which operated from the regions of La Selva and Gironès, regularly transported marijuana by road to Lyon and Montpellier, although it also supplied drugs to local dealers.
• Investigators have arrested 13 people and seized 11 kilos of marijuana buds with a value on the illicit market of 72,400 euros, 925 grams of hashish valued at 31,000 euros, 3,000 marijuana plants in different stages of flowering and growth and 30,000 euros in cash.
• Six of the detainees were brought before the court in charge of the case, the 6th Court of Instruction of Blanes, and were released on bail and under precautionary measures.

March 10, 2023.- Customs Surveillance officials from the State Tax Administration Agency, together with agents from the Mossos de Esquadra of the Criminal Investigation Division (DIC), have dismantled a criminal organization dedicated to marijuana trafficking and have arrested 13 people, who are accused of the crimes of belonging to a criminal group, against public health in the area of drug trafficking and electricity fraud.

Of these 13 arrests, seven were dropped and the rest, five men and one woman between the ages of 22 and 41, were brought before the court and released on bail and under precautionary measures.

The investigation arose from information obtained from the 'Alba Case', an investigation from June 2022, where 24 plantations were dismantled that produced 1,275 kilos of marijuana per year with a wholesale sale price on the illicit market of more than 3 million euros. Investigators obtained evidence of criminal activity from one of the people linked to the group dismantled in Solsona (Lleida) and this fact led them to that group.

A family clan that operates like a company

The different members of this group formed several stable networks and carried out perfectly differentiated tasks that gave them a high degree of specialization in their functions. They had no other source of income outside of criminal activity and of the six detainees brought before the court, only the head of the organisation had a criminal record.

One of the group's members acted as a leader and directed the criminal activity of the entire organization. It was responsible for providing the financial capital necessary for the acquisition or rental of properties and for adapting the spaces and facilities necessary for their cultivation. On the other hand, the leader of the group, who also managed his own plantations, provided material, space, logistics and financial support to other members of the same network and other people outside the group, in exchange for a one-off financial remuneration. He also planned and executed drug transports by road to France.

On a lower level was the leader's trusted man, who was in charge of distributing the necessary material for the plantations. In addition, he also packaged and prepared the drugs for distribution. He was also the person who acted as a liaison between the organisation and potential buyers and participated in the logistics of the transactions, the routes, the vehicles used and, in addition, supported the people who carried out the transports. He was knowledgeable about all levels of the group: from the most directive and the most operational and technical perspective, in terms of plantations.

Just below there were a series of people who performed other functions of a more secondary nature or subordinate to the organization's strategy. One of the suspects, who also managed several plantations, stood out for his high level of knowledge in the marijuana cultivation process and was in charge of tending to the plantations when they had productivity problems. The rest of the group members managed other plantations of the organization and also helped in the transportation of drugs by vehicle, in addition to managing the accounting.

Travel to France with security measures

The group, which operated mainly from the regions of La Selva and Gironès, regularly transported marijuana by road to Lyon and Montpellier, although the end-use of some of the drugs that arrived in France could also end up in other countries in central Europe. However, the organization also supplied drugs to local dealers.

Travel was a key moment in the organization's logistics and its members took many precautions. The shipments were prepared with great care, both by the leader of the organization and by his lieutenant. They used two vehicles, one in front, which reported on all possible unforeseen events that could arise, and another, which traveled a few kilometers behind, which was the one transporting the drugs.

The organization took many surveillance and self-protection measures. In order to arouse less suspicion during their journeys, they had several vehicles with which they carried out counter-surveillance to detect any possible police presence.

They also used a large number of telephones, which they replaced periodically to make police work and the possible location of the plantations more difficult.

Exploitation of research

On February 15, after having obtained sufficient evidence of the criminal activity of the members of the group, the joint investigation team formed by both bodies, with the collaboration of the Local Police of Maçanet de la Selva, will carry out the exploitation of the case and made nine entries and searches, both in homes and indoor plantations, located in the Girona municipalities of Maçanet de la Selva, Sils, Sant Martí de Llémena and Olot.

More than eleven kilos of marijuana buds were seized with a value on the illicit market of 72,400 euros, 925 grams of hashish valued at 31,000 euros and 25 grams of cocaine valued at 1,500 euros. Nearly 30,000 euros in cash and nearly 3,000 marijuana plants in different stages of flowering and growth were also seized. The technicians of the electricity supply company estimated the study of the electricity fraud in the plantations at around 235,000 euros.

On February 17, the six detainees were brought before the court and released on bail.