A synthetic drugs bust in Marina Baja

AT least six people were arrested in a Guardia Civil swoop on international drug traffickers based in the Marina Baja.

Armed with search warrants, the force’s criminal investigators searched an industrial unit in Alfaz del Pi and two in La Nucia, where they found hundreds of packets of synthetic marihuana. 

Most of those arrested were workers employed by the drugs ring which operated in Spain, Holland and Belgium. 

Some were freed after questioning although another detainee is believed to be one of the principals and further arrests are not ruled out.

Sources revealed that the synthetic marihuana was sold over the internet and marketed as incense or infusions.

Authorities worldwide are concerned, as consumption of the drug is known to have caused deaths in the US and Europe.

Luis Alfonzo, of the Pan American Health Organisation, in Alicante for the Socidrogalcohol Conference, explained that synthetic marihuana is a chemical and it is impossible to be 100 per cent certain of its composition. “Gauging its short-term effect is easy but long-term it is more difficult to foresee the collateral damage it could cause,” he said. 

“We’re talking about playing Russian roulette.”