2023-11-30 12:53:38
Los indoor marijuana crops linked to illegal hookups to the electrical grid are growing at a frenetic pace in Spain and are becoming a problem that clearly goes beyond the energy field to enter fully into that of citizen security and public healthamong others.
The mafia emergence increasingly professionalized and violent, together with the problems of increasing disorders and addictions in adolescentslos safety risks in electrical installations for the neighbors who live with these plantations and, even, the fires that sometimes cause these illegal hookups, are some of the key issues that must be addressed to solve this threat and that will require a toughening of penalties both against marijuana trafficking and against illegal connections to the electrical grid.
In Spain almost 60% of electricity thefts are done through illegal hookups, according to the figures managed by the electricity company Endesa, the most worrying being those linked to marijuana plantations. During the last four years the figures derived from This phenomenon has been duplicated, while they have increased couplings that allow feeding indoor crops. Currently, illegal installations indoor in Spain they consume about 2,200 gigawatts/hour, which is equivalent to the electricity expenditure of an entire city like Seville.
Only during the year 2022, the Endesa e-distribución network subsidiary received almost 63,000 complaints that gave rise to more than 21,000 inspections75% more than the previous year.
To analyze the current situation of indoor marijuana plantations and address the risks they generate on an economic and social level. THE NEWSPAPER OF SPAINfrom the Prensa Ibérica group, with the sponsorship of Endesa, organized a meeting with experts in Madrid under the title Beyond electrical fraud: consequences of illegal marijuana plantations.
José Manuel Revuelta, general director of Endesa networksassured during his speech that the installation of illegal indoor plantations is “really alarming” and that “the current framework does not favor it to get better.” Today, these crops represent the 30% of the total electrical fraud in Spain.
Revuelta acknowledged that this situation represents “a very relevant social problem that entails brutal security risks.” He stressed that “fraud kills“Well, the fires and electrocutions They are common in this type of installations.
The Endesa manager also reflected on the magnitude of the problem in our country and the seriousness of the fact that, de facto, “all Spaniards We are financing marijuana trafficking to northern Europe. It is unthinkable that we assume it as a society when there are short term measures that could reduce it significantly.
Elena Cogollocaptain of the Judicial Police Technical Unit of the Civil Guard, explained that for some years now the Armed Institute has detected a increase in the number of cannabis seizures in plantations indoor and noted that they are noticing a change in trend in the purpose of crops. “In the beginning, production was focused more on own consumptionbut later increasingly violent and professional mafias have arrived that come from cocaine trafficking. Furthermore, socially, there is a marijuana laundering“he stressed.
The captain warned that Spain its the country “number one in terms of marijuana production“and is number three by consumption in Europe. He pointed out that one of the reasons that drives its cultivation in our country is that “it is cheaper and has less risk than trafficking cocaine or heroin, since it is not considered seriously harmful to health since criminal level is not so punished“. He argued that “with a single harvest all the money invested is recovered and, on top of that, the 99% of the time they are illegally hooked on to the light“.
Maria del Carmen Ballesterprosecutor of the Special Anti-Drug Prosecutor’s Office of the National audience He stated, for his part, that behind the illegal plantations and cannabis crops “there is organized crime“.
Pedro Pablo Herraizpresident of the Ámbitos Foundation, pointed out along the same lines as in illegal hookups “there is a factor that is health and another which is that of safety“because this electrical manipulation “It also has consequences such as possible short circuits or fires.”
Herraiz also warned about the Social impact that produces the marijuana use in adolescents and denounced that for some time now cases of schizophrenia have increased at early ages. “Young they receive from society that consumption is good, that it is a natural product and that it cannot be like cocaine or heroin,” he emphasized.
Toughen penalties for drug trafficking and electrical fraud
Regarding the sanctions that are imposed for the illicit possession or production of this type of drugs, María del Carmen Ballester stressed that in the case of marijuana It only carries a sentence of one to three years “at most” and pointed out that the majority of the production of this substance in Spain is sold to other countries where “you pay up to five times more.”
Therefore, from the Special Anti-Drug Prosecutor’s Office of the National Court they propose a judicial modification that increases the criminal liability for trafficking marijuana, hashish and other drugs. However, prosecutor Ballester admitted that there are various problems in this regard, and one of them is that Europe tends towards “legalization of marijuana.”
For her part, Captain Cogollo acknowledged that the Civil Guard “finds it very difficult to investigate and prove that there is organized crime“because, to enter a home and be able to register it, it is necessary to have a judicial authorization. In this sense, the representative of the Armed Institute valued the labor fundamental that carry out the electrical companies to support the fight against electrical fraud in illegal plantations. “Many times, if not thanks to your reports, approval of the authorizations to investigate would not come,” he added.
Given this panorama, the experts all agreed on the need not only to toughen penalties against marijuana trafficking, but also those directed at stop illegal hookups that are acting as an accelerator of a problem that is advancing by leaps and bounds in all its dimensions.
Unsafety
José Manuel Revuelta, as director of Endesa, explained the “absolute lack of protection“of the electric companies in this situation before the electrical fraud and its rapid growth spurred by the illegal cultivation of marijuana.
ensures that its workers “play their luck” every time they try to intervene to end fraud. “The workers wear balaclavas and They suffer all kinds of pressures. Mafias of violent organized groups electrify the doors to defend themselves and that when someone enters they get stuck,” he denounced.
“At Endesa we carry out inspections, We detect, we go with the Civil Guard, the National Police or the Mossos, and we dismantle, but After a short time they returned and continue with the pressure“lamented the director of the electric company.
Citizen awareness
Ballester assured that the citizen collaboration es crucial to detect this type of installationsbut noted that the problem is “who has the courage to do it.”
Pedro Pablo Herraiz, for his part, is committed to carrying out awareness campaigns to explain to the young people “What effect can the consumption of this substance have? about them.” consequences of marijuana in adolescents, The expert pointed out, they can become truly serious and fully affect their development.
Herraiz believes that the problem “is not solved only with criminal intervention.” The president of the Ámbitos Foundation pointed out that the illegal sale It leads people, sometimes, into a spiral “where there is no way out.” He also wanted to send a message of encouragement to young people: “There is life after the last joint.”
María del Carmen Ballester stressed that it is not only about toughen the penalties, but more support is needed from institutions. He stated that it is necessary to launch awareness campaigns and recalled that “the majority of the income of the National Plan against Drugs are for the prevention“.
The experts agreed to highlight the relevance of a joint and coordinated action, carried out by the different social, economic and political actors to combat illegal marijuana plantations inside homes and prevent threats to the health and safety of citizens that coexist with this type of cultivation.
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