Police bust major marijuana farm

Nov 06, 2008
TBT Staff in cooperation with BNS

TALSI 's Police have uncovered a massive marijuana farm in the central-Latvian city of Talsi along with approximately 500,000 lats (711,400 euros) worth of the plant. 

Police representatives said that the bust marked the largest farm ever found in the country.

"This is the largest [marijuana] farm in Latvia that has been discovered so far. It cost 60,000 lats to build it and the technical arrangements are perfect," acting Customs Criminal Board chief Marians Burijs told journalists.

The State Police said that the marijuana farm with the area of some 100 square meters had been organized in a remote private property in the western Latvian district of Talsi.

Three male suspects, all in late thirties, have been detained and the court has ruled to keep them in custody.

A search of the premises turned up 5.3 kilograms of hashish, 18 kilograms of marijuana and 1,905 marijuana plants 's amounting to about 150 kilograms of undried marijuana.

The pretrial investigation established that the suspects organized in the rural property a marijuana farm and a drying house, installing powerful lighting, heating and ventilation equipment as well as pumps for watering the plants. Police said the operation had been active for a long time and the output was intended for sale outside Latvia.

Karlis Dombrovskis, the chief of the Anti-Drug Office under the Organized Crime Enforcement Department of the State Police, told the press that in view of the complicated economic situation "enterprises" of this kind could grow in Latvia and the law enforcement agencies might discover more such cases in future.

Investigation continues and several more suspects might be detained in the case.

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