Canelones police detained three people in the operation they called Operativo Villa Arejo, at Villa Villarejo, a settlement on Ruta 32 about 16 kilometres from Canelones city.[1] Officers carried out four raids on homes in the area, one of several simultaneous searches carried out on the morning of Monday 30 November 2020.[2] The three detainees included the man police described as the suspected head of the group, and one of them had a record for robbery, handling stolen goods and theft.[1] Police were looking for four people and were still seeking the fourth, a young man who had left his home for work early that morning.[3]

Officers found cannabis in three greenhouses, with more than 70 marijuana plants in all.[2] Police chief Víctor Trezza put the count at about 40 plants in one greenhouse, 20 on another property and 12 on a third, all of which he said would be confiscated.[4] Officers also seized a .22 pistol and a sawn-off shotgun, ammunition, mobile phones, loose cannabis buds and 9,000 pesos in cash.[1]

The operation followed talks with Villa Arejo residents who said drugs were being sold locally and reported nightly shootings.[2] Investigators worked on the case for at least a month and a half before seeking the search warrants.[3] About 30 officers took part, including the tactical response group, the investigations division of the Canelones police command and forensic police, arriving in patrol cars, large vehicles and a helicopter.[1]

A police scientific unit was surveying what was seized, and the detainees were to be taken before prosecutor Mónica Castro.[2]