Following the fall of Lazarat, the so-called 'European capital of marijuana' in southern Albania, its leaders have relocated their 'operations manual' to rural areas of Lleida and La Franja. This criminal model exploits reservoirs, pine forests, industrial warehouses, and illegal electricity to establish large-scale cannabis plantations, both outdoors and indoors.
In 2014, a police operation in Lazarat ended decades of control by clans involved in marijuana trafficking. Contemporary chronicles described armed confrontations and resistance from inhabitants who viewed cannabis production as their primary income source. The collapse of this 'factory' marked a turning point.
The method imported by the Albanian clans is characterized by hidden forest camps, the construction of irrigation ponds, the use of generators to minimize noise, makeshift drying facilities, and 'gardeners' living in conditions akin to military service. This criminal structure has transformed the depopulation, water access, and rugged terrain of the Pyrenees into a major marijuana production industry, one of the largest in Europe.
The first evidence of these groups settling was detected in July 2019 in Os de Balaguer (Lleida), where over 2,400 plants were found. Shortly after, in November of the same year, the National Police discovered 16,000 plants in the province of Huesca, with detainees linked to Albanian groups. These events confirmed that the Lazarat model had been transplanted to the Pre-Pyrenees.
Since then, police operations have continued. In July 2020, an Albanian network was dismantled in a joint operation between Lleida and Huesca. In September of the same year, the Mossos d'Esquadra seized over 1,800 kilos of marijuana in a steep area near the Camarasa reservoir (Noguera), with five detainees of Albanian origin.
The initial phase of establishment, between the fall of Lazarat and the first detections in 2019, was opaque, focused on finding suitable land, water sources, and recruiting personnel. Currently, the most affected areas in Lleida include La Noguera, Alt Urgell, and Pallars, while in Huesca it extends through the Pre-Pyrenean pine forests of El Gállego to El Sobrarbe and La Ribagorza.
The business has diversified with 'indoor' plantations in warehouses, apartments, farms, and country houses, complementing outdoor cultivation. This shift towards indoor operations, involving significant illegal electricity consumption, allows for greater control and faster replacement of losses. A recent operation in La Mariola (Lleida) in 2026 highlighted this urban evolution, with arrests for possession of marijuana, weapons, money, and electricity fraud, suggesting a potential alliance between Albanian narcos and local clans.
