Madrid, Apr 14 (IANS): Spain's Civil Guard and police of northern Spain's Navarre confirmed that they have dismantled the largest illegal plantation of marijuana in Europe.

The plantation was discovered between the towns of Artajona and Olite in Navarre, covering 67 hectares and containing almost 415,000 plants, Xinhua news agency reported.

The owner of the plantation said it was producing hemp for industrial use. However, agents became suspicious when they saw the final destination of the plants was to countries such as Switzerland and Italy, where this kind of plant can be processed to make cannabidiol (CBD).

Three suspects were arrested on Wednesday for running a large warehouse in Artajona, which was equipped with a ventilation and temperature control system to dry the plants.

Police officers intercepted a truck that was about to leave for Italy carrying 23,000 dried cannabis plants, while some 13,000 plants were found inside the warehouse.

The police said all of these plants have been destroyed, along with the plants which were still growing in the plantation, which would have a value of around 30 million euros when processed into CBD.