Twelve tons of concentrated vanilla, originating from Jalisco, Mexico, traveled to a logistics center in Barcelona and then to an isolated farmhouse in Almenar, Segrià. This substance, intended for coffee, desserts, and ice cream, was actually a front for the production of liquid methamphetamine.
On July 6th, National Police officers raided the farmhouse, finding a chemical atmosphere, walls covered in silver foil, fans, refrigerators, and large pots on stoves. The property had been transformed into a clandestine laboratory for the Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel.
A joint investigation by the National Police and France's Office of Narcotics Enforcement has led to the dismantling of a cartel branch in Catalonia, with 13 arrests – twelve in preventive custody – and the seizure of 2.5 tons of methamphetamine. Chief Commissioner Alberto Morales of the Central Narcotics Brigade celebrated the blow to the cartel.
The Lleida laboratory, considered one of the largest in Europe, had the capacity to produce 800 kilograms of drugs in just two days. The process involved evaporating vanilla, purifying methamphetamine, and refining it with acetone, operations hindered by Catalunya's heatwave.
Chief Inspector Alejandro Martín warned that methamphetamine is a reality in Spain and that Mexican cartels dominate the synthetic drug market, sourcing chemicals from China. However, he ruled out the presence of fentanyl in the country.
The investigation began in France upon detecting methamphetamine in a shipping container. The National Police organized a controlled delivery to the Lleida lab, intervening just as the drug was ready for sale. The price per kilogram of methamphetamine exceeds 50,000 euros.
Of the thirteen detainees, seven are Mexican, five of them from Guadalajara, Jalisco state, the cartel's stronghold. The other two are from Sinaloa. The operation, codenamed 'Vainille', remains open to investigate potential links to other groups in Spain. The traffickers chose Lleida for its road connections and the area's isolation.
