Blow to marijuana trafficking in Font de la Pólvora: 26 arrested, 11 plantations and weapons

BarcelonaThe Mossos d'Esquadra entered forcefully this Tuesday early in the morning in one of the most complex neighborhoods in Catalonia. Up to 600 agents of the Catalan police were summoned at five in the morning to launch a major operation against drug trafficking of marijuana in the Font de la Pólvora neighborhood of Girona, as well as in other towns, such as Riudarenes, Cassà de la Selva, l'Escala, Sils, Caldes de Malavella, Brunyola, Llagostera, Bescanó, Celrà, Quart and Salt.

The operation was declared closed at midday and there are 26 detainees. The police, after a long investigation, carried out 27 entries and searches, mainly in apartments and houses, where they found handguns and long guns, eleven marijuana plantations, and large amounts of cash. According to sources consulted by ARA, the nerve center of the operation is in Font de la Pólvora, where the family clans leading this drug cartel would be established. According to police sources, they were engaged in marijuana trafficking but also in money laundering.

Although the Font de la Pólvora neighborhood is considered the epicenter of this police investigation, which is still under seal, no arrests have been made. The reason is that the family clans involved in this scheme were originally from this neighborhood, but over the years they have gained more purchasing power and have moved to other nearby towns. According to sources familiar with the neighborhood, this is a common dynamic, often linked to the drug business. A marijuana plantation, weapons, and two individuals have been detected in the neighborhood.

Currently, Font de la Pólvora is one of the areas with the worst socioeconomic indicators in Catalonia. Its territorial socioeconomic index – which takes into account variables such as the employed population, level of education, and average income per person – is up to 48.6 points below the Catalan average, which is 100. Furthermore, it is a neighborhood prone to conflict, controlled by certain very specific family clans, and where the Mossos [Catalan police] usually enter with great force and many officers to avoid possible conflicts. In part, this element explains the large deployment of 600 officers that took place on Tuesday morning.

In parallel, the fact that marijuana traffickers are increasingly armed to avoid robberies among themselves – the so-called narco-assaults – also causes the Mossos to have to deploy more officers when they try to apprehend them. Normally, moreover, in these narco-assaults, the drug thieves pose as police officers. This means that given the possibility that drug traffickers might mistake them for thieves and shoot them, the Mossos have to carry out these operations with great caution. Precisely for this reason, Tuesday's police deployment consisted of agents from the Special Intervention Group (GEI), the Brimo, and the ARRO, units specializing in entries of this type and equipped with long weapons. It is increasingly common for these units to attend operations against drug trafficking. In fact, on Tuesday, several handguns and long weapons were found, which forensic police are analyzing.

The operation, however, has been developed in several points of the Girona demarcation, one of the hottest spots regarding the marijuana traffic. Years ago, cannabis traffickers stopped prioritizing outdoor plantations and opted for indoor production. To do so, they look for single-family homes, normally in developments far from the center or in other scattered points. For this reason, the demarcation is becoming an ideal place, also due to its proximity to the AP-7 and the border with Northern Catalonia.