Major drugs gang broken up in Valencia province

AFTER identifying the fact that a number of Polish and Spanish individuals appeared to be involved in the cultivation and sale of cannabis in Valencia province, action was taken to arrest them.

It then transpired that the gang was led by a Polish citizen who had two Spanish lieutenants, one responsible for not only purchasing drugs in Spain but also renting properties and setting up cannabis plantations whilst the other was responsible for selling the drugs abroad, mainly to Poland and Germany, with the drugs smuggled into those countries in shipments of vegetables.

Working with Europol and the Polish police, the National Police undertook a number of raids at seven different properties in Spain which resulted in the arrest of 13 people of Czech, Moroccan, Polish and Spanish nationalities.

Each of the properties raided was being used for the cultivation of cannabis and the storage of other drugs and based on information obtained from the Polish police, it became clear that the gang was also responsible for the theft of vehicles which were fitted with fake number plates and then sent to Poland.

When the police arrived at the various properties it could be seen that they were heavily guarded with a number of security cameras as well as a special area where the drugs were packed and after the arrests, officers seized all of the cannabis growing in the seven nurseries, 159 kilos of marijuana, more than €73,000 in cash, a firearm with the number filed off, other guns and six vehicles (two of them stolen).

Raids in Poland found information concerning 38 vehicles of Spanish origin, many of which had been sold to innocent purchasers who had no idea that they were stolen.