Agents of the National Police have dismantled one of the largest ecstasy production macro laboratories in Spain in Valencia. 12 people have been arrested, some in the Alicante town of Altea and others in the Valencian town of Sueca. According to the National Police, they are allegedly related to the production of amphetamines and are charged with crimes against public health, membership in a criminal organization and against the environment.
In total, five entries and searches have been carried out in which 1,900 liters of MDMA, 1,000 liters of precursors to produce ecstasy and another 1,000 liters of chemical waste have been seized.
The investigation began at the end of last year by agents assigned to the Narcotics Group of the National Police station in Benidorm, when they became aware of the existence of a criminal network that was allegedly dedicated to the production of synthetic drugs (crystal) in a laboratory located around the municipality of Sueca for distribution throughout Spain.
After the agents' inquiries, the identity of two of the members of the group was obtained, who were monitored until several properties were identified and located; among them, a country house located in the vicinity of Sueca, where the researchers were able to observe an unusual movement of the rest of the members of the network.
They also verified the existence of signs such as a strong chemical smell, excessive transport of plastic bottles by those investigated, in addition to the fact that they could be seen wearing industrial-type masks when they entered and left the country house or changed their clothes after having been inside.
The organization had chosen the location strategically to try to go unnoticed, since the laboratory was located in a wooded and mountainous area, with deteriorated and narrow access roads.
During the course of the investigation, the investigators were able to verify a well-defined distribution of tasks between the different members of the criminal network. On the one hand, one of those investigated was the one who carried out the transfer of the rest of the members to the laboratory; another, the one that transported the drug from the laboratory to the “nursery” storage places, prior to its distribution to the final buyer.
A third acted as a drug security guard to avoid being robbed by other criminal networks; another, taking advantage of the fact that he had no criminal record, gave up his documentation to rent the properties used and not alert the police. And there were those responsible or leaders who ran the organization.
All members of the organization adopted strong security measures to avoid police investigation, using multiple vehicles of different brands and colors to avoid police surveillance.
During the investigation, on January 17, the agents decided to stop two of those investigated who, aboard one of the vehicles used to transport the plastic bottles, were proceeding to leave the laboratory. At that moment and when they were surprised, the two investigated accelerated sharply with the intention of running over the agents who had to jump into the ditch to avoid being run over.
At that moment, a chase began that ended with the arrest of both occupants and the seizure of two 5-liter bottles each, which were later found to contain amphetamine, leading to their arrest and the precipitation of the exploitation phase and the rest of arrests and home searches.
Finally, twelve men were arrested and five searches were carried out, four in the town of Altea and a macro laboratory in the vicinity of the municipality of Sueca, where a total of 1900 liters of MDMA (known as crystal or ecstasy), 1000 liters of accelerants and precursors to produce more amphetamines and 1000 liters of chemical waste, a large still, decanters, lathes, stoves, test tubes, precision scales, personal protective equipment, among other elements dedicated to the production and storage of the drug and its precursors.
Given the magnitude of the material seized and the complexity of the machinery found in the searches, the agents were assisted by agents assigned to the synthetic section of the Central Narcotics Brigade of the General Commissariat of the Judicial Police. Furthermore, due to the dangerousness of the substances, the collaboration of the TEDAX-NRBQ Group of the Provincial Information Brigade of the Higher Headquarters of Valencia and the Inspection and Sampling Group of the General Scientific Police Commissariat was requested.
During the entry and search procedure in the Sueca laboratory, the agents were able to observe how all the leftover chemical substances from the preparation of the synthetic drug were discarded through tubes that came out to the outside and ended up being poured into the field with the resulting environmental damage, which is why they have also been charged as allegedly responsible for a crime against the environment.
It should be noted that the 1,900 liters of synthetic substance, MDMA, transformed into its solid state (crystallization) would have reached a final weight of 2,185 kilograms and given the quantity of the drug, investigators suspect that they could be supplying the narcotic to other European countries. After being brought to justice, four of those arrested have been remanded in provisional detention.
