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Police and customs officers have dismantled a cannabis trafficking network operating between Alicante and Murcia, seizing 126 kilos of marijuana and shutting down an indoor grow house in Cehegín.
The operation led to the arrest of three suspected members of the group, including one of the alleged ringleaders who was later tracked down in Guardamar del Segura, according to police.
Investigation began with rural surveillance in Elche
The inquiry began in March during surveillance near a rural property in Elche, where officers stopped a van as it left the area. Inside, they found 126 kilos of marijuana packed in refuse sacks and hessian bags, and detained the driver, described as an Albanian national.
From that discovery, investigators traced what they say was a wider criminal setup dedicated to cultivating, processing and distributing cannabis across the two provinces.
False identities used to hide the real renters
Police said the group used the identities of other people, without their knowledge, to sign rental contracts for the properties used by the network. One of those identities belonged to a Ukrainian man, whose details were allegedly used to lease one of the premises.
That tactic, officers said, was intended to conceal the real occupants and make the network harder to trace. The suspects now face alleged offences including document forgery and identity misuse, in addition to drugs-related charges.
Officers later obtained a warrant to search a property in Cehegín, where they found 145 cannabis plants in flower and the equipment needed for an indoor operation, including air conditioning, humidifiers, extractors with carbon filters, fans, LED lighting, automatic irrigation and centrifuges. The installation was also illegally connected to the electricity supply.
A Lituanian man was arrested at the site and is accused of guarding and maintaining the plantation, while the suspected leader found later in Guardamar del Segura was handed to a court in Torrevieja.
