Dénia Cannabis Club Closed After Police Allege Drug Sales to Tourists

Six people detained after the Dénia raid

The operation ended with the arrest of six people: five men and one woman aged between 22 and 50. The National Police said the detainees were allegedly involved in drug-trafficking offences and membership of a criminal group. The proceedings were later sent to the investigating courts in Dénia.

Two men were arrested inside the premises during the search. According to the police account, they were responsible for opening and closing the venue and supplying substances to people described as customers. Four further arrests followed after investigators examined the possible criminal responsibility of the association’s governing board and other workers.

The principal figures reported in connection with the operation are:

Police say the association operated outside a members-only model

A registered association under investigation

The investigation began after information reached the National Police about a possible drug-sales point operating behind the appearance of a cannabis association. The entity was registered with the Department of Legal Entities of the Generalitat Valenciana as a cannabis association whose stated activity involved naturism and alternative medicine.

That registration did not settle the question of how the premises were actually being used. Officers monitored activity around the venue and reported a steady flow of young people who stayed only briefly before leaving in haste. The pattern caused what the police described as considerable concern among residents in the area.

The reported indicators of the alleged operating model were:

• Police said people could enter to buy substances without having to be members.
• Many of the purchasers were identified as foreign tourists spending their holidays in Dénia.
• The association had reportedly maintained the same modus operandi since an investigation began in 2025.
• The premises were examined for ownership, responsible persons and licensing before the search warrant was requested.

Foreign tourists were reportedly a main customer group

The alleged tourist-facing activity is central to the case. The National Police said the venue directed much of its activity towards foreign visitors on holiday in Dénia, while surveillance suggested that access was available to anyone wishing to buy rather than being restricted to an established membership base.

That description is important in the Alicante context. A private association is not a retail outlet simply because it uses the language of a cannabis club or is formally registered as an association. Nor does the presence of international visitors turn Dénia’s private-club framework into a tourist-access system. Membership remains a private matter for each association, and the reported conduct in this case is alleged by police rather than established by a final court judgment.

The facts reported about the venue distinguish its alleged activity from the private association model in three ways:

1. Access: police said buyers did not need to be members.
2. Customer profile: investigators said many purchasers were foreign tourists visiting Dénia.
3. Continuity: police reported that the same operating pattern had been under investigation since 2025.

National Police seized cannabis material and cash

The search took place after the investigating courts in Dénia authorised entry and registration of the premises. Officers reported seizing 2,126 grams of cannabis material, 1,031 grams of hashish, 601 cannabis cigarettes and €670 in cash. The figures describe material and money seized during the operation; they do not, by themselves, establish the final criminal responsibility of any individual.

The two reported weight seizures can be set out without treating them as evidence of a final conviction:

The main operational details reported by the police and the accompanying coverage are:

The investigation began in 2025 and led to a judicially authorised search

The police account places the start of the investigation in 2025. Investigators first gathered information about the suspected sales activity, then carried out surveillance and checks relating to the venue’s ownership, responsible people and licences. After those steps, they applied to the Dénia investigating courts for authority to enter and search the premises.

The reported sequence was:

The allocation of roles was also part of the police theory of the case. The two men found at the venue were allegedly handling day-to-day access and supply. The four later detainees included the association’s president and secretary, along with two other men identified as workers. All six were reported as being investigated for alleged drug trafficking and membership of a criminal group.

What the Dénia case clarifies about private cannabis clubs

The reported operation does not establish that private cannabis associations in Alicante are retail businesses. It underlines the opposite distinction: the association model is private and members-only, while the conduct described by the National Police involved alleged indiscriminate sales to people who did not need to be members. The difference is particularly relevant in a tourist destination such as Dénia, where visitors may misunderstand the existence of clubs as an invitation to public access.

The case also shows why a club’s formal registration and its day-to-day operation are separate questions for investigators. The association had a stated purpose recorded with the Generalitat Valenciana, but police examined whether the premises, its managers and its workers were involved in conduct that could amount to criminal offences. Those allegations have now been placed before the investigating courts in Dénia.

The available facts answer several immediate questions about the operation: