Thousands of cannabis plants cultivated by Albanians in Spain are destroyed in two police operations

Screenshot of the operation of Guardia Civil of Spain showing cannabis plantations

 Thousands of cannabis plants cultivated by Albanian criminal groups have been found in the last two days by the Guardia Civil in Spain, which has carried out two operations. On Monday, thousands of cannabis plants were discovered planted near the largest shrine of Opus Dei, in the Pyrenees Mountains, on the border with France.

According to Publico, the drugs were planted in rugged mountainous terrain, while Arturo Notivoli, the chief captain of the third unit of the Guardia Civil in Huesca, says a 140-kilogram electric generator was found used by Albanian drug traffickers to put at work the pump that supplied water to the marijuana plants from a reservoir.

The place where cannabis was found is a wild place and the area was turned by Franco into a wasteland. All were forcibly expropriated, which created a geographical anomaly. Only devout pilgrims who pray to the Blessed Virgin, known as the Black Virgin, go there. Captain Notivoli says: “I have never been 200 meters away from a plantation and it was impossible to find it. They clear forests to clear cultivation areas, but always leave intact some trees, so that their tops hide the soil and prevent cannabis from being seen from the air. "They also use firewood from the clearing to create barriers and build a kind of fortress in wooded areas that are terribly closed and without the main entrance."

Meanwhile, this Tuesday, in Masboquera was arrested a 37-year-old Albanian who had a cannabis plantation consisting of 3,537 plants, which were planted in a wooded area known as the Llastres de Masboquera valley. The Guardia Civil initially discovered a perimeter fence made of wire mesh and covered with shrubs, while the plants were in optimal condition, ready to be collected. The Albanian lived in a tent and in addition to cultivating cannabis, he also controlled entry and exit in the area.