Laurence Dollimore
MORE than five tonnes of marijuana have been seized by the Guardia Civil in a huge Costa del Sol drug bust.
Operation CARISMA saw 28 people arrested from an international crime gang dedicated to selling vast amounts of drugs across Europe.
Some 12 properties were raided, uncovering five tonnes of hashish, 300 kilos of marijuana and more than €500,000 in cash.
The operation began in 2015, when the gang was first detected in Malaga.
From there cops discovered two other branches of the organization in Granada, which were directly connected to the operation and whose function was to cultivate and process large quantities of marijuana that later transported throughout the national territory and across the continent.
The organization, which in Spain was run by a Moroccan origin based in Fuengirola, acquired the hashish by contacting suppliers directly from Morocco and marijuana with other suppliers who processed it in Granada.
Once the hashish arrived in Spain it was guarded in different locations in Malaga, waiting to receive large quantities of marijuana from the Granada cell.
Both substances were packaged, packed and hidden among legal goods.
They were either transported in trucks of a transport company linked to the criminal organization or in vehicles of a rental company owned by two members of the organization.
They even had several rental vehicles with double bottoms to transport the drug to European countries without raising any suspicion.
In total the operation has led to the arrest of 28 people of Spanish, Moroccan, French and Dutch origin, the seizure of 5,213 kilograms of hashish , 390 kilograms of marijuana, €522,410 in cash, a 45 caliber firearm, 19 cars, 3 trucks, 2 semitrailers and 1 moped, bringing the value of the effects seized to more than €10 million euros.
Ridiculous waste of entrepreneurial energy. All that effort and money should be encouraged and led by the State. Spain is uniquely placed to import and cultivate cannabis in a legal, controlled manner.
As and when, other European countries see the light and legalise the use of this substance, Spain could be in pole position to make early fortunes, as in many American states right now.
Wake up Europe! Stop dithering and give those people what they want! They will bless you and so will the taxman.