An investigation in various rave parties in the province of Granada alerted the Civil Guard agents to the circulation of a complete catalog of designer drugs. The supply, which was very wide, included speed, ketamine, ecstasy, MDMA, amphetamines, methamphetamines, poppers, hallucinogenic mushrooms, and LSD. The agents eventually discovered the production location, an industrial warehouse in Atarfe (Granada), from which the products were perfectly preserved in cans. It was, essentially, a chemical -and allegedly criminal- industry that has been dismantled by the Civil Guard. The authorities have arrested eight people belonging to this group, three of whom are already in pre-trial detention and are temporarily charged with a crime against public health for drug trafficking and membership in a criminal group.
The beginning of this operation -called Nazarí73 Candasú- originated from the investigations carried out by the agents in various rave parties. Information obtained by agents of the Organized Crime and Anti-Drug Team (EDOA) of the Judicial Police Unit of the Civil Guard of Granada led them to a supplier in the Netherlands who provided the so-called precursors, chemicals diverted from their legal course towards the illicit manufacturing of drugs. A shipment of five liters of a liquid that tested positive for amphetamine, sent by this supplier, triggered the operation. The Civil Guard has reported in a statement that this person was already under surveillance by the US anti-drug agency, the DEA, for drug distribution via the internet in the United States and Europe.
Step by step, the EDOA agents were able to identify all the members of the criminal organization and reach the laboratory. There, in Atarfe, the security forces found and seized all kinds of designer drugs in varying quantities: four kilos of methamphetamine, 1.5 kilos of amphetamine, one kilo of LSD, 1.5 kilos of rock MDMA, 1,357 grams of hashish, 500 grams of solid ketamine, 400 grams of MDMA, 32 grams of hallucinogenic mushrooms, nine liters of liquid ketamine, 50 milliliters of poppers, and 818 doses of ecstasy. The images provided by the Civil Guard show, for example, pills with shapes resembling gummy bears, very similar or identical to those found in candy stores.
In addition to the drugs, the now-detained individuals had jewelry, precious metals, and money. Along with the narcotics, four gold bars weighing 700 grams were found, as well as numerous pieces of jewelry made of the same material weighing 900 grams. This kilo and a half of 24-carat gold currently has a value of over 120,000 euros. Finally, the agents found 11,000 euros in cash. In the dismantled laboratory, chemicals “with a high degree of toxicity and the residues of these substances ended up in the sewer system, posing a potential danger to the environment and to people. Products such as methanol are highly flammable and can even be explosive under certain conditions,” the Civil Guard reported in its statement. In addition to the warehouse where the drugs were manufactured, the criminals had two other locations to store and distribute the merchandise, two homes in two towns in the metropolitan area of Granada.
