This report from Portugal Resident, published on 21 May 2025

PJ police have arrested five people suspected of belonging to an international network dedicated to trafficking large quantities of cannabis, produced in Portugal, with elevated THC levels.

In a press conference today, the criminal police force added that 7.3 tonnes of cannabis, €411,000 in cash, 12 vehicles and 11 weapons were seized.

Money made from various transactions “may have been used to finance terrorist groups and activities”, reported Correio da Manhã this morning.

The investigation, led by the PJ’s UNCTE (national unit for the combat of drug trafficking), began in 2022, “in close collaboration and liaison with the Spanish police and judicial authorities”.

A number of legal business operations have been targeted (Portugal being the world’s second largest exporter of medicinal cannabis behind Canada). Público cites one, Canna Forest, based in Fundão, which runs with a rolling banner on its website, declaring “Our production is legal, responsible, ecological and protected”.

Canna Forest however is only one of the businesses involved in the PJ searches. Another was Herdade das Barrocas, in Estremoz.

According to reports, the alleged group is believed to have taken advantage of legal channels for exporting cannabis in order to traffick large quantities to central Europe and Africa.

Correio da Manhã, for example, says that authorities suspect that money made from these deals could have been used to finance terrorism. “The PJ now has a number of foreign investors who have bought into this lucrative sector in its sights”, says the paper.

Canna Forest is understood to be run by Luso-French businesswoman Teresa Faísca and French partner Christophe Bourier.

A web source for the sector, CannaReporter, stresses that businesses have confirmed the searches conducted by PJ police, “but this does not mean they are guilty”.

CannaReporter also says there is confusion over ‘elevated THC levels’, explaining that “there are no THC limits  in medicinal cannabis”. 

While Expresso reported that the PJ’s investigations “revealed that the criminal organisation in question, knowing the flaws and vulnerabilities of the system for supervising and controlling exports of medicinal cannabis in Portugal, acquired pharmaceutical companies, then set up commercial companies licensed for the wholesale, import and export of medicinal cannabis, in reality ending up sending several thousand kilos of cannabis to illicit markets using false documentation and certificates”, Canna Reporter says it has spoken with a number of the businesses targeted and none appear overly rattled.

João Godinho of Herdade das Barrocas told the outlet, “Yes, we were also targeted by the PJ’s searches, but nothing happened and I hardly spoke. They wanted to gather information, look at various things, such as accounting records, sales to clients, etc.,” he explained. 

Godinho also said that he was ‘very calm’ and available to actively collaborate with the authorities. “We provided all the information that the PJ requested and we are very calm. We are an organised company that has always behaved in a rigorous and demanding manner”, he told CannaReporter.

The website also managed to speak to Christophe Bourier, CannaForest’s CFO, who confirmed that the PJ had been at the company’s premises all day. “Yes, it’s true that the Polícia Judiciária were here and are still here (at 7pm on Tuesday), but they’re getting ready to leave,” Bourier confirmed. 

“CannaForest’s CFO also said that the authorities had been provided with all the documents requested: ‘We’ve given them everything they’ve asked for, from accounting reports to import and export certificates. For our part, there’s no problem, the certificates are issued by Infarmed and everything complies with the inspection carried out by Infarmed. The transport is also done by a certified company, so we had no problem collaborating and showing everything,’ said Bourier”.

CNN mentioned another company ‘Sofex, from Sardoal’ – but this company has no licence issued by Infarmed – as well as a company in Montenovo da Fataca, in São Teotónio, Odemira, which CannaReporter says it “has not yet been able to verify”.

While “Operation Weed” (Erva Danina) was being carried out in Portugal, similar searches took place in other European countries, namely Bulgaria, Cyprus and Spain.

In Portugal, around 300 inspectors, 48 experts and 24 PJ security guards took part in 64 searches – at least one of which was in Madeira – alongside six public prosecutors and three judges.

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