Family detained for dealing pot

NO LESS than seven members of the same Santa Pola family were detained on suspicion of drug dealing by the Guardia Civil.

A spokesman for the force said they noticed in early February that drugs were being sold to the public from two homes in the town centre and another in the nearby rural district of Las Bayas, which is part of Elche.

The investigation established that all three places belonged to the same extended family, which had set up their main base in a home inhabited by a couple aged in their 80s, who allegedly helped with the illegal activities by keeping lookout.

Due to their advanced age, the couple went unnoticed when they went for strolls nearby, which enabled them to warn the other members of the gang if there were any police in the area. Officers searched the three homes, finding a laboratory equipped for growing marijuana indoors in Las Bayas.

As well as Guardia Civil from Santa Pola, the raids were assisted by a sniffer dog unit from Alicante and local police from Santa Pola and Elche.

They seized 105 grams of hashish, 21g of amphetamines, 15g of cocaine, 7g of marijuana, €1,200 in cash, equipment for handling the drugs and two vehicles.

Of the suspects – who are four men and three women, all Spanish and aged between 24 and 83 – four were arrested and three are under investigation.

A court has ordered that two of them be held on remand and the others have been released until their trial.