Two men were arrested by the police on suspicion that they produced and sold narcotic substances to the value of €1 million. According to the police, this is the largest volume of contraband cannabis prepared by the hydroponic method discovered so far, IPN reports.

Senior investigation officer of the National Investigations Inspectorate’s Organized Crime Division Andrei Balanescu told a news conference that ten ventilated greenhouses with about 8,000 hemp plants weighing about 40 tonnes were identified on a field near Falesti district. Approximately 400 kg of narcotics were extracted from this quantity.

The drugs that were to be sold in Russia were assessed at about €3,000 per kg or over €1 million overall. At suspects’ homes, the police found literature about how to grow this type of plant.

Prosecutor Lilian Bacalim said the group consists of a number of persons aged between 23 and 46 from the districts of Falesti and Glodeni and of citizens of Russia. These imported hemp seeds from the Netherlands and grew plants on Moldova’s territory. Afterward, they smuggled the cannabis into Russia.

 The suspects were placed under arrest for 30 days. They face up to 15 years in jail.