The National Police in Orihuela, Alicante, have dismantled an indoor marijuana plantation with 784 plants that was installed inside a warehouse on the town’s outskirts, and have arrested four men as alleged perpetrators of drug trafficking, document forgery, membership in a criminal group, and electricity fraud, as the illegal plantation was supplied with electricity via an illegal connection.

The inquiry began after diverse information was obtained concerning the likely existence of a facility on a property on the outskirts of the municipality of Orihuela that may be used for illegal activities, similar to indoor marijuana cultivation.

As a result of discreet surveillance of the surrounding area and other investigations, officers from the Orihuela Police Station’s Judicial Police Brigade noticed four individuals entering and exiting the warehouse. Investigators identified this conduct as common practice among the proprietors of this type of plantation.

Among these common acts, the agents saw how those involved performed counter-surveillance functions, looking in all directions to notify that no one was watching them as they entered and exited the warehouse.

Following confirmation of their suspicions, the exploitation phase of the operation began with the interception of a car driven by one of the suspects. The trunk included two green plastic bags with marijuana residue, as well as other plant-growing supplies like fertiliser.

The property under investigation was then entered and searched, resulting in the arrest of a second culprit, while the other two were held at their respective homes.

Following the arrests of people under investigation, a search of the warehouse was conducted, which was partitioned into two rooms and used for different purposes depending on the flowering stage of up to 784 cannabis sativa (marijuana) plants discovered within. Their development and culture were aided by a complete and modern lighting and ventilation system, and their electricity supply was later discovered to be obtained through an illegal connection to the power grid.

On the other hand, those arrested did not scrimp on passive technical methods of monitoring the farm, since there were cameras along the perimeter, forming a closed-circuit video surveillance system with motion sensors. This circuit covered all access angles to the plot, indicating a certain level of sophistication, resulting in increased security in the guarding and custody of the merchandise, as is typical of facilities designed by experienced individuals, with the goal of providing remote security coverage to the plantation located within.

Frequent power outages in the neighbourhood

As a result, the electricity consumption generated by this set of facilities was so high that local residents’ demonstrations revealed that they had experienced power outages on several occasions for no apparent reason, possibly due to consumption peaks caused by the illegal connection typical of this type of plantation.

Finally, another piece of evidence demonstrating the criminal group’s ability was the use of a falsified paperwork to rent the ship, which is usual among this type of organised gang; they impersonated third parties to mask their genuine identities.

The operation led to the arrest of four people suspected of drug trafficking, document forgery, electricity fraud, and membership in a criminal organisation. The plantation was demolished, and all 784 plants were seized.

Eight people have been arrested by National Police for money laundering in connection with drugs trafficking. Their primary activity was the marine transportation of hashish from Morocco to the Spanish mainland. The searches and arrests occurred in Malaga and Melilla.

The operation ended with the seizure of 350,000 euros in cash, vehicles, and technological gadgets, as well as the freezing of over 250,000 euros in bank accounts. The organisation’s financial collapse has resulted in its complete disintegration.

The study was carried out at different stages. The first stage involved determining how the organisation’s chief and another member were travelling to the province of Almeria to prepare for a narcotics shipment. At that point, the authorities had detained five people and recovered 1,500 kilos of hashish.

The police operation recovered GPS gadgets, navigation devices, satellite phones, guns, and two vehicles as evidence of drug trafficking. Following the searches in Malaga and Almeria, all of the organisation’s members were detained.

Because of the quantity of narcotic substances discovered in a single shipment, the Malaga provincial police headquarters launched an asset investigation, revealing that there was a branch inside this network committed to money laundering.

Melilla-based branch, led by women

The money laundering section was situated in Melilla and was run by the partners of the organisation’s two major members. They had established a food and beverage retail company, which they exploited for years to funnel significant sums of money from drug trafficking. Investigators discovered that the corporation had transferred over 1.5 million euros in cash through its bank accounts.

The company initially used the money to establish and grow. Once consolidated, it began to operate autonomously, becoming the engine of money laundering, with funds coming in from multiple bank accounts in instalments and spaced out over time.

The company blended these cash flows with its own operations, concealing their unlawful origin. The corporation made purchases from suppliers, disclosed its operations, paid taxes, and even paid salaries to scheme participants, all to provide credibility to the organisation’s ostensibly legal activities.

Thus, scheme members might receive the funds as if they were entirely legitimate, dissociating them from their criminal origin.

Besides the company’s laundering methods, investigators found that some network members were also doing their own money-laundering activities to buy real estate and vehicles using front men or trusted intermediaries, making real estate purchases with hidden or unrecorded payments, and financing those purchases.

Searches

Following the investigation, eight people were arrested, and eight searches were conducted in Malaga and Melilla homes and businesses. A total of 350,000 euros in cash was seized, along with a vehicle, mobile terminals, and a computer.

Additionally, 12 residences and 13 cars received asset blocks totalling 1,650,000 euros. Accounts totalling more than 250,000 euros have been frozen.

Eduardo Dolón, Mayor of Torrevieja, was joined by Sandra Sánchez, Councillor for Urban Services; Concha Sala, Councillor for Parks and Gardens; Diana Box, Councillor for Sports; Jorge Ballesta, Manager and Deputy Manager of AGAMED; and Gemma Cruz to inaugurate the new skate park in the Torrealmendros rolling pond. This facility is part of a larger initiative to develop, improve, and integrate Torreta Florida Floodplain Park into the landscape.

Claudio Pastor, the president of the Puro Skateboard Torrevieja Skating Club, and secretary Silvia Jiménez led a large contingent of members to the opening ceremony. It is worth noting that Valeria Chacón, a young Torrevieja member of this club, is the Valencian Community champion in her category and is currently competing in an Olympic sport. The club’s skating squad complimented and thanked Torrevieja City Council for developing this enormous sports facility, which was created with their input to be as effective as possible for their training sessions.

The mayor congratulated AGAMED on the opening of the sports area located on the storm pond, which required an expenditure of about 700,000 euros, and praised the Puro Skateboard Club for its support and collaboration throughout the development of the park. The park has become a popular location for practicing this sport.

This new sports facility includes a modern skate park with specialised modules such as Quarter+Flat, Hand Rail, Manual Pad+Flat, Flat Rail, and Funbox+Hubba+Spine, allowing skaters to practise numerous modalities and techniques of this urban sport.

The project comprises not only the sports facility but also a callisthenics area, new street furniture, and a thorough landscape integration plan based on planting, all of which contribute to the space’s renaturalisation and the establishment of a new green space for all citizens to enjoy.

This project is a key step towards upgrading Torrevieja’s sports and leisure facilities by providing a modern and multifunctional place for skateboarding and other outdoor activities.