Walter Finch
SPANISH police oversaw another huge drugs bust this week, but one that harbingers a new and worrying trend in the country’s struggle against narco trafficking.
The raids, which saw 10,000 marijuana plants seized and 26 arrested, coincides with a report that claims Spain is now ‘first producer of cannabis in Europe.’
The unwanted crown goes with another gold medal in hash smuggling into Europe and a bronze prize for cocaine entry (after Belgium and Holland).
This week’s Guardia Civil operation saw 16 separate raids across the province of Cordoba take down a multinational, heavily-armed drug trafficking gang.
The group had set up a sophisticated operation that included both indoor and outdoor grow sites across huge swathes of isolated farmland, guarded by armed cultivators who lived on-site.
These grow houses were all illegally hooked up to the grid, which led to frequent power outages in nearby areas as they syphoned off electricity to power their operations.
While the operation has been hailed a success, it also highlights the growing threat of a new front in the war against the narcos.
A recent report from the High Court of Justice in Andalucia spelled out the struggles that Spain’s hard-pressed law enforcement faces in its efforts to combat the many-headed hydra of organised crime.
The Cordoba operation goes along with similar police actions in Almería, where police uncovered 503 illegal electricity hookups linked to indoor cannabis plantations.
Similarly in Berja, following an investigation that resulted in two tonnes of cannabis being seized and 244 inspections carried out across 31 provinces.
The southern provinces of Granada and Almería are known to be targeted by cannabis gangs, especially indoor growing.
Police have already cut off over 500 illegal electricity hookups in Almeria, while in Granada there are drug clans set up in Atarfe, Pinos Puente and the northern area of ??the capital.
Authorities have even created special plans to help power companies identify and cut off grow sites in order to ensure residents have electricity in their own homes.
And while many casual users feel that cannabis is one of the least harmful of the illegal narcotics, its illegal cultivation by organised crime groups has led to other disturbing outcomes.
A separate report from the Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office notes that these operations often involve the exploitation of undocumented workers who often labour in conditions bordering on ‘human slavery.’
Albanian, Serbian, and Moroccan gangs have been pinpointed for their brutal methods, while the rural areas of Lleida and Tarragona in Catalunya are identified as a hotspot.
“The presence of foreign organised crime groups and large-scale marijuana plantations in these areas has created an environment where vulnerable individuals are trafficked and exploited for profit,” the report states.
