Alcoy drug gang busted
ALICANTE Guardia Civil and National Police forces carried out a joint operation called Legs-Rat to tackle marijuana cultivation and trafficking, during which they dismantled a criminal group dedicated to the growing of cannabis and the sale of narcotics.
Three searches were carried out in the town of Alcoy, where all the gang members were arrested.
Ibi Guardia Civil’s ROCA unit – specialising in countryside thefts – started investigating a group in November, who they believed were cultivating marijuana.
They rapidly became aware that the Alcoy National Police’s judicial officers were also investigating the same gang and premises, so they joined forces.
They discovered that the house used for cultivation was owned by a bank and valued at more than €500,000 and that €6,000 worth of tap water had been illegally obtained.
After ‘arduous investigative work’, the operation was successfully concluded, with three searches being carried out.
In the first one, at a country house in Alcoy, 360 marijuana plants and state-of-the-art LED lights for cultivation were seized, valued at €20,000.
At the same time, searches were carried out at two more houses in the town centre, where 91 grams of cocaine, 53 grams of MDMA and €1,300 in cash were seized.
Four Spanish nationals were arrested, three men and a woman linked by family ties, all of them residents of Alcoy and with established connections in the area.
The main suspect had a criminal record for offences related to drug cultivation and trafficking. The four detainees were sent before an Alcoy judge and released with charges.