Capital Region Police seize 621 cannabis plants at Kjalarnes industrial site
Capital Region Police raided an industrial building at Esjumelar on Kjalarnes on the night of 18 March 2009, seizing 621 cannabis plants plus about 5 kg of marijuana and a similar quantity of cannabis leaves. Two men in their thirties were arrested at the scene and released after questioning.
🇮🇸 Esjumelar, Kjalarnes peninsula, Capital Region · Iceland
Capital Region Police raided an industrial building at Esjumelar on the
Kjalarnes peninsula on Wednesday night and seized 621 cannabis plants at various
stages of growth.[1][2]At the same site officers seized about 5 kg of
marijuana and a similar quantity of cannabis leaves.[1]Karl Steinar Valsson,
head of the force narcotics unit, told reporters the indoor operation was the
largest cannabis cultivation his officers had seen and may have run for years.[2]
Two men in their thirties who were at the facility were arrested during the
raid.[1][2]Police said on 19 March that both had been released from custody
after questioning and that holding them was not necessary for the
investigation.[1]Valsson said officers had shut down close to 20 grow houses
in preceding weeks and had already seized more than 3,000 plants in 2009,
exceeding the 2007 and 2008 totals combined.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
2
Plants destroyed
621
Cannabis
5 kg
Agency type
Police
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis (5 kg); Living plants (621 plants)
Police also seized a similar mass of cannabis leaves alongside the ~5 kg of marijuana; the leaf weight is not stated in kilograms on the opened pages.
The two men were released from custody on 19 March; the opened sources do not report charges or convictions.
Morgunblaðið’s photo archive entry for Kjalarnes carries a conflicting caption referring to another location; no event photo was verified for this raid.
On 23 September 2026, Westfjords police searched a home in Bolungarvík and seized dozens of fully grown cannabis plants and the growing equipment. The occupant was arrested, questioned and released. Police called the case solved.
By 6 July 2026, capital-area police had stopped three cannabis grows in southwest Iceland, seized just under 800 plants and arrested eight people after eight searches. Police said the cannabis was meant for sale. No charges or court outcome were given.
In the week before 10 July 2025, Capital Region police arrested six people, searched seven premises and seized 20 kilograms of marijuana hidden in shipments, including at customs checks and an industrial building in Hafnarfjörður. Three suspects were held briefly in custody.
Police raiding a remodelled house in the fishing town of Grenivík on 4 March 2017 found more than 50 mature cannabis plants, 30 smaller ones and 2 kg of dried marijuana, arresting one man who confessed the drugs were his. The same house had been raided for a larger growing operation in May 2016.