Guardia expose grow houses
Equipment included large extractors and dehumidifiers
THE GUARDIA Civil have dismantled three indoor marijuana plantations in the Marina Alta and arrested two men and a woman.
Officers in El Vergel started investigating whether a gang may be using houses to grow the drug in November, reported a spokesman for the force.
The first was searched on December 14, when they detained a 47-year-old Estonian man and seized over 300 cannabis plants and 2.3 kilos of packaged buds.
The suspect was charged with a public health offence and electricity fraud.
The officers already knew a person was renting several houses to use in this way, and receiving daily supplies in return.
They obtained backup from the Alicante specialised security unit (USECIC) and uniformed officers from Moraira to search two more homes, in Benissa and Denia.
These resulted in a man and a woman, both Lithuanian and
aged 47 and 59 respectively, being arrested on suspicion of the same charges.
A total of over 280 cannabis plants and six kilos of buds were seized from these two homes, along with over €2,000 in cash, a high-end vehicle, and equipment including large extractors, dehumidifiers, transformers, scales and packaging for the drugs.
The identity of the person renting out the homes remains unknown, noted the spokesman.
Advanced technology enabled almost everything to be controlled remotely and monitored via CCTV, apart from maintenance and guard duty provided by a person who stayed there constantly.
A court in Denia refused bail for the Lithuanian man but charged and released the other two suspects.