At the end of last month, a Guardia Civil drugs operation resulted in the detention of 21 people in Ibiza, Barcelona and Gerona. One of the 21 was a DJ in Ibiza, who was said to have been the leader of a drugs gang that was bringing ecstasy and ketamine into the Balearics from Florida.
During the operation, the Guardia Civil in Palma discovered a kit for the express cultivation of marijuana. The gang's importing of synthetic drugs had been disrupted because of the restrictions on travel. A substitute source of income was required, and rapid cultivation of marijuana offered this source.
It can normally take four to five months to grow marijuana. Apart from the length of time, this cultivation involves a risk because of the possibility that high electricity consumption will be detected. The kit reduces the cultivation time dramatically and the use of electricity. Innovative LED lighting, almost identical to daylight, was being used, as were powerful fertilisers and special drying and extraction techniques.