Three people arrested with 249 kilos of marijuana in an industrial warehouse in Orihuela

According to sources close to the case, the Guardia Civil has seized 249 kilos of marijuana after breaking up a cannabis sativa plantation in an industrial warehouse in Orihuela. They have also arrested three young men aged 19, 22, and 23 as the ones who were growing the drugs.

The police took 688 marijuana plants that were about a metre tall. Last week, the three people who were arrested, along with their lawyers Roberto Sánchez Martínez and Carmen Herrero, went to court in Orihuela. They were all released on bail.

The Investigation Area of the Main Post of Torrevieja did the operation. It was based on the work that was done after another marijuana crop was shut down last year in Almoradí.

Contract for electricity

The police looked into the company that had won the contract to supply power to Almoradí and found that it also had two additional contracts for industrial buildings in Cox and Orihuela. The Guardia Civil didn’t find anything related to growing marijuana in Cox, but they did locate indications of it in a building in the Puente Alto industrial park in Orihuela. This led to a new inquiry and the dismantling of a cannabis sativa plantation.

The Guardia Civil found out about a probable case of electricity theft when they first looked into this warehouse. So, they set up surveillance around the warehouse and determined that there was no work going on: no staff coming and going and no cargo cars moving.

The inactivity was complete, and no one came in through the main door of the building during the observation. This led to the belief that access must be through buildings next door.

The Guardia Civil of Torrevieja asked the Air Unit for help, and they used drones with thermal sensors to find a strange heat source in the building that didn’t seem to be working.

The agents kept looking for proof to back up their concerns that there might be a marijuana cultivation within the warehouse. They finally asked a court in Orihuela for permission to enter and inspect the premises.

Police apprehended the three young males inside and took 688 marijuana plants from three rooms after searching the building. The plants produced a total of 249 kilograms of marijuana, yet they hadn’t started to blossom yet.