Alex Trelinski
A BULGARIAN drugs gang took a leaf out of the hit US TV drama Breaking Bad by laundering the profits of a marijuana operation via a car wash business.
Seven men were arrested by the Policia Nacional following three raids in Valencia province.
Officers also went south to Elche in Alicante province where they dismantled a marijuana farm run by the crew, though the amount of narcotics discovered was not revealed.
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The raids on February 17 also saw the seizure of €7,000, 33,000 UK pounds sterling, and five vehicles.
Four of the detainees had criminal records for similar crimes.
Investigations started in November into a group of Bulgarians involved in large-scale marijuana growing and exporting.
The gang bosses were said to enjoy a high standard of living and owned a car wash in an unnamed Valencian town.
They used this business in an identical way to the main character- Walter White- in the acclaimed US TV drama series Breaking Bad to launder all the money they made from their narcotic sales.
Police monitored the premises and discovered one of the men who occasionally worked there, had previously been convicted for drug trafficking.
They noted frequent absences as he purchased supplies and materials to grow marijuana.
The gang suffered a major blow in December when a lorry carrying 130 kilos of marijuana in vacuum-sealed bags within eight boxes was intercepted in Castellon province.
It was the only consignment being carried by the truck, barring €1,000 in cash.
