Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
Guardia Civil officers detained 11 people in Vícar after a major operation against cannabis cultivation and trafficking uncovered four pistols, ammunition and more than 4,200 plants, the force said.
The operation, codenamed Corbite, focused on the Archilla area after months of investigation into a series of violent incidents that included shots fired in public, damage to homes and clashes between rival groups.
Raids targeted homes linked to the grow operation
Investigators identified several properties they believed were connected to the indoor cultivation network and carried out 14 simultaneous searches on 4 November, mainly in the Barrio Archilla neighbourhood.
About 150 Guardia Civil officers took part in the deployment, backed by investigation units from the 3rd Company in El Ejido, public safety patrols, canine teams from Almería and Málaga, two USECIC teams from Almería, two rapid action units and PACPRONA officers.
A patrol from Vícar’s local police also supported the operation.
Weapons, cash and cultivation equipment seized
During the searches, officers seized four short-barrelled firearms, several imitation weapons, a knuckleduster and 136 cartridges of different calibres, including 74 blanks.
They also found 4,229 cannabis plants and plant material, 2,965 kilos of buds, equipment used for intensive indoor growing, and alleged illegal electricity connections supplying the properties. Police also took €10,510 in cash, jewellery, watches, 139 lottery tickets and a van.
The detainees are being investigated over alleged drug offences, electricity fraud and, in some cases, unlawful possession of weapons.
According to a later report, a judicial authority had released the 11 detainees by the time the operation was publicly disclosed.
