Nine held after police find 2,500-plant cannabis factory in Gulbene
Vidzeme criminal police raided a house and farm building in Gulbene municipality in mid-May 2012, cutting more than 2,500 marijuana plants weighing over 300 kg and seizing several kilograms of dried cannabis. Nine people were detained and four were remanded in custody as a group production investigation opened.
In mid-May 2012, State Police in Vidzeme uncovered an illegal cannabis factory
in a house and farm outbuilding in Gulbene municipality, where marijuana had
been grown for about six months in fitted rooms heated and lit by a powerful
generator.[1][2]Regional criminal police called it the largest drug cultivation
site ever found in Vidzeme.[1]
Seizures and arrests
During sanctioned searches, officers cut and removed more than 2,500 marijuana
plants at various growth stages, with a combined green weight of more than 300
kilograms, and seized several kilograms of dried plant material.[1][2]Police
valued the drugs at several tens of thousands of lats, citing roughly seven
lats per gram of dried marijuana on the local market.[1]
Nine people were detained on suspicion of making, growing and selling narcotic
drugs as an agreed group; four were remanded in custody.[1][2]A criminal case
was opened under Latvia’s group production and trafficking provisions, carrying
five to ten years’ imprisonment.[1]Investigators said the isolated property
appeared bought specifically for cultivation and that the crop may have been
sold outside Latvia as well.[1][2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
9
Plants destroyed
2,500
Cannabis
300 kg
Agency type
Police
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis (300 kg)
Activity
Trafficking, Cultivation
Setting
Home, Other building, Prison
Case stage
Under investigation
Sources
LA.lvla.lvLVGulbenes novadā atklāta marihuānas audzētava
Dienadiena.lvLVJaudīgs ģenerators sildīja vairākus desmitus tūkstošu latu vērtus marihuānas stādus
Open questions the AI reported
News reports in early June 2012 describe the discovery as having taken place in mid-May; the exact day of the sanctioned searches is not stated.
Several kilograms of dried cannabis were seized but the opened sources do not give a precise dried weight.
Police estimated retail value at tens of thousands of lats and said sales may have reached beyond Latvia; no charges or sentences are reported in the opened coverage.
Latvian State Police found an equipped cannabis grow in a house and greenhouse in Jersika parish, Livani municipality, seizing 114 plants at different growing and drying stages plus 19 cartridges. A man born in 1980 was detained on suspicion and a criminal case was opened, with the investigation continuing.
After a long investigation, Latvian police detained four people on 3–4 June 2026 and searched ten addresses in Rēzekne, Rēzekne and Madona municipalities, finding two indoor grows with 835 marijuana plants and about 24 kilograms of dried cannabis plus guns and €3,145 cash.
In late July 2025 Kurzeme police found a specially equipped backyard plot in Saldus municipality, seizing more than 300 marijuana plants and dried plant material. Several suspects were detained; forensic tests on the exact weight were still pending when police publicised the case on 22 August.
On 30 and 31 July 2025 Latvian police in Krāslava and Krāslava municipality searched three addresses, pulling 89 marijuana plants from a greenhouse and about 40 grams of dried marijuana from a young man’s flat and house, opening two criminal cases.
