Guardia Civil have dismantled in Alicante Province a drugs ring that controlled the largest marijuana plantation discovered to date in Spain. According to sources in the investigation, ‘Operation Wandering’ culminated with four men and two women being arrested, and the seizure of 9,000 plants in various stages of growth. The plantations were spread among different areas of the province.

The detainees (two Dutch and four Spanish) allegedly controlled the marijuana trade between Spain and the Netherlands.

The shipments were made on road trips between the two countries.

Police in Spain have noticed a growing trend to farm ever larger quantities of marijuana with a view to transporting them out by road to markets in the north of Europe.

The absence of any risk in bringing the drug through the outer borders of European customs and the relatively lenient sentences compared to distribution of harder drugs has made this particular mode of drug dealing increasingly popular amongst even organised crime syndicates.