BROADCAST FOOTAGE OF Saturday’s stage of La Vuelta inadvertently led Catalunyan police to a drugs raid, with 40 marijuana plants seized in Igualada, west of Barcelona.
Eagle-eyed watchers of a helicopter’s aerial footage of the race posted the sighting of the illicit crop on social media, and the Mossos d’Esquadra opened an investigation on the back of the report.
“We received information via social media that there was a marijuana plantation on the roof of a block of flats in Igualada,” a spokesperson for the Catalan police force told The Guardian.
“We began an investigation, which is still under way, and we have seized 40 plants. For the moment, there have been no arrests.”
🔴 🚁 El helicóptero de #LaVuelta19 descubre una plantación de marihuana en una azotea. pic.twitter.com/Zhry3x1rng
— AUGC Guardia Civil (@AUGC_Comunica) September 3, 2019
Possession of cannabis has been decriminalised in Spain, though it is illegal to grow and sell the drug. The spokesperson added that the rooftop is unconnected to the flats below it, so ownership of the crop has yet to be determined.
On today’s stage at La Vuelta, home favourite Mikel Iturria claimed his first professional win, powering to victory in the Pyrenees.
The 27-year-old Basque rider (Euskadi-Murias) made a brave break into the lead and, despite his hefty lead shrivelling in the last two kilometres, Iturria held on for an impressive win.
Spaniard Jonathan Lastra (Caja Rural) was second, with America’s Lawson Craddock (Education First) coming in third, both part of a chasing pack that finished six seconds behind.
None of the 14 breakaway riders posed a threat to Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), the Slovenian who retains the overall leader’s red jersey ahead of tomorrow’s stage 12.
Originally published at 17.26
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