Two men arrested as marijuana plantations are dismantled in Sax and Petrer

The Guardia Civil has arrested two men, aged 33 and 37, as the suspected perpetrators of offences against public health and the illegal abstraction of electricity, after dismantling two marijuana plantations inside properties located in the Alicante towns of Sax and Petrer.

The investigation, part of “Operation Green Saj” and carried out by the Guardia Civil investigation area of Sax, began in March after local residents raised alerts regarding continuous power cuts and power surges in a street in Sax, according to a statement issued by the armed institute.

Initial checks allowed officers to locate a property where an illegal connection to the electricity grid had been established, which had caused significant issues for the rest of the network users.

During the proceedings, investigators detected that there could be a second property linked to the events situated in Petrer, which was connected to the same owner. Surveillance operations confirmed the suspicious activity at both addresses.

After gathering the necessary evidence, the Guardia Civil established an operation that culminated on 5 May with the entry and search of both properties, with the support of the citizen security unit (USECIC) of the Guardia Civil of Alicante and the rural robbery team (ROCA) of the Guardia Civil of Ibi.

At one of the properties, situated in Petrer, a 33-year-old man was arrested, where more than 400 marijuana plants were located, many of which were prepared for distribution. Subsequently, during the search of the property in Sax, officers arrested a second man, aged 37, and discovered nearly 500 plants inside the residence.

In total, more than 900 marijuana plants have been seized, alongside confirmation of the existence of illegal connections to the electricity grid at both properties. The detainees have been placed at the disposal of the Civil and Alicante Investigation Section of the Court of First Instance of Villena.