The Civil Guard, in the so-called operation IBAR II, has dismantled the largest laboratory in capacity for the production of synthetic drugs to date in Spain, directed by a criminal organization that produced and distributed them in the Marina Alta.
Five records have been carried out and 6 has been detained, four of Spanish nationality and two of Belgian nationality.
Agents began investigating a criminal organization based in the area, dedicated to the distribution of large quantities of narcotic substances throughout the national territory, mainly heroin. One of his collaborators contacted a new collaborator who would be in charge of the supply of "crystal", a synthetic drug with which to expand his "catalog" of products among his clients.
Location of the laboratory
Thanks to this collaboration attempt - it did not come to fruition - the agents began a new line of investigation around this new criminal organization, specialized in the production of large quantities of "crystal" and that would have established its operations center, both for the production and distribution of synthetic drugs, in the well-known Marina Alta Alicante, specifically in the towns of Llíber, Teulada and Benissa.
The investigation allowed to locate the laboratory where supposedly they would be elaborating different synthetic drugs, located in a kind of garage-bunker half-buried and with the appearance of warehouse of farming tools, located a few meters from the house of one of the main members of the group, in a plot removed from the urban area where noises and smells typical of the production of "glass" could be detected.
Parallel to the location of this production center and with the main members of the organization identified, it was learned that one of the investigated had acquired 2 kg of "Speed", another synthetic drug, in the town of Benidorm, a substance they intended to sell immediately after adulterating it in the localized laboratory.
Registers in Teulada-Moraira and Llíber
As a result of this, a police device was established in order to carry out a first phase of exploitation of the operation, records being developed in two houses and in the aforementioned laboratory, in the towns of Teulada, Moraira-Teulada and Lliber, in which involved a large amount of "crystal", precursors, cutting material and effects used for its preparation.
In this first phase, we proceeded to detention of 4 people, 2 of Spanish nationality and other 2 of Belgian nationality, being charged with the crimes of belonging to Criminal Organization and Against Public Health.
In a second phase, two other searches were carried out in homes in the town of Teulada, used by the organization to hide and store different precursor substances used for the synthesis of the "crystal", where two other persons of Spanish nationality were arrested .
The largest synthetic drug laboratory in Spain
With this operation, it is considered dismantled what could be considered the largest synthetic drug laboratory in Spain, as far as production capacity is concerned, having intervened 432 kg of MDMA, 337 of amphetamine, 527 of Piperonyl Methyl Ketone (PMK), main precursor of MDMA, 1742 kilograms of other precursors and 5212 kg of different substances for the elaboration of "crystal", all valued in more than 100.000.000 of euros.
Under optimal operating conditions, the now dismantled laboratory could be producing up to 5 kg of "crystal" per day, about 1800 kg per year.
This operation has been carried out by the Organized Crime Unit of Alicante, of the Central Operative Unit of the Civil Guard, with the close collaboration of the police authorities of the Netherlands and Europol.
