The police operation, which took place on April 21st, resulted in the arrest of four men and the investigation of two others. A dozen searches were conducted in homes and industrial warehouses, primarily in Tarragonès (Tarragona, Torredembarra, Salou, and Perafort), as well as in Peligros (Granada). Consequently, the activities of the implicated companies have been halted, and their bank accounts and assets, valued at approximately 800,000 euros, have been frozen.
The network operated under a business structure dedicated to selling products for home marijuana cultivation, but its core business was supplying materials for the installation and maintenance of large-scale plantations. To conceal illicit profits, the network employed a double-entry bookkeeping system. Over 240,000 euros in cash, vehicles, and technological equipment were seized.
The investigated companies offered a comprehensive service, providing everything necessary for illegal marijuana cultivation, including lighting, ventilation, irrigation systems, fertilization, and environmental control. Investigations revealed that despite presenting themselves as independent companies, they were part of a single, coordinated business structure with shared resources.
The network laundered capital to introduce profits into the legal financial system. The parallel accounting amounted to approximately 13 million euros, while the responsible parties' bank movements exceeded 80 million during the investigated period. The organization also had a subsidiary in Germany to expand its reach across Europe.
“"We place special value on this police operation because we have dismantled a second-layer distribution node that proves the infiltration into the country's economic fabric by criminal organizations exclusively dedicated to supplying mass cultivation and drug trafficking organizations."
“"Security forces are attempting to act as a containment wall against the reality that mass marijuana cultivation not only involves plantations and their derivatives but also the immense economic volume generated by these organizations, which, in a capitalist system, gives them economic infiltration power and the ability to acquire other potential risks affecting all layers of our society."
The deputy inspector emphasized that the operation will allow for an analysis of the full extent of the criminal structure and its associated risks.
