Marijuana 'supermarket' closed: the company that supplied the large cartels in Catalonia falls

BarcelonaIf they wanted a marijuana plantation, they provided all the necessary material. Lighting, ventilation, irrigation systems, fertilization... They even brought it wherever it was needed. They operated like a cannabis supermarket. Apparently, they sold grow shop products, intended for personal consumption, but in reality, as an investigation by the Mossos d'Esquadra and the Guardia Civil has been able to confirm, they supplied plantations controlled by large marijuana cartels. These are individuals of Spanish nationality who have appeared in many investigations in recent years against Albanian cannabis clans – although none of them had prior records – and, finally, the police have been able to link their role: they facilitated infrastructure and money laundering.

The investigation began in 2023, although the company in question has been active since 2018. On April 21st, 13 searches were carried out in homes and industrial warehouses, 12 of which were in the province of Tarragona, and four men were arrested. Since then, the cessation of the companies' activities and the blocking of their bank accounts and assets, valued at approximately 800,000 euros, have been decreed. "We are trying to act as a containment wall. Marijuana is not just plantations; there is an enormous economic volume behind it. If we do not stop the infiltration of these organizations into the economic fabric, it will be difficult to reverse part of the drug trafficking," stated Deputy Inspector Marc Bayón, from the DIC of the Mossos in Tarragona.

of cannabis. Apparently, they sold products from 80 million euros laundered

The parallel capital –around 13 million euros– was stored, internally accounted for, and redistributed among the same network of companies to cover payments to suppliers and personal expenses, as well as being progressively introduced into the legal economic circuit. During the period investigated, bank accounts linked to the main responsible parties registered capital movements exceeding 80 million euros, while legally declared activity did not reach 15 million.

The organization grew to the point of having a subsidiary in Germany. In fact, the Mossos dare to say that they are facing the "tip of the iceberg" of this network. Therefore, the investigation remains open and new arrests are not ruled out. The police also believe that the criminal group even facilitated money laundering for Albanian marijuana cartels. "We have attacked a node that supplied six criminal organizations that have planted a lot of marijuana on the Mediterranean coast. It is a blow that surpasses a hundred dismantled plantations," exemplified Bayon, who emphasized the task of trying to attack criminal groups through their economic structures.