Spanish police discovered a major cannabis plantation containing around 415,000 plants in Navarre (north of the country) and arrested five people, they said on Wednesday.
In their dried state, the plants would have had a black market value of €30 million ($32 million), while this would have risen to up to $100 million if processed into cannabidiol (CBD) or other derivative products, officers said.
Operación conjunta con @guardiacivil: desmantelamos la mayor plantación de cáñamo industrial de Europa destinada al tráfico de drogas. 415.000 plantas, 87.500kg cogollos. Compañero fuera de servicio descubrió uno de los cultivos y comenzó la investigación #BuenTrabajo #cannabis pic.twitter.com/BW2U1hcqF8
— Policía Foral - Foruzaingoa (@policiaforal_na) April 13, 2022
CBD is sometimes used in medical treatments, although it is banned in Spain, as is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is also extracted from cannabis plants and is the main component of the drug marijuana.
The growers had already prepared some of the plants to be shipped abroad, the police statement said. The majority of the plants, however, were still on the 67-hectare fields.
All of the plants have since been destroyed.
