Spain's Civil Guard and officers in northern Spain's Navarre reported Wednesday that they had destroyed the biggest illicit cannabis farm.

The farm, which spans 67 hectares and has about 415,000 plants, was uncovered between the villages of Artajona and Olite in Navarre and is valued at up to 100 million euros.

The plantation was stretched across 11 fields totaling 67 hectares, according to a statement from the Guardia Civil.

The owner of the plantation stated that it was growing marijuana for industrial applications.

However, authorities grew suspicious when they discovered that the plants' intended destination was Switzerland and Italy, in which this type of crop can be utilized to produce cannabidiol (CBD).

CBD is a non-psychoactive chemical that is rapidly being utilized to treat anxiety, insomnia, and other medical conditions.

In the raid, three individuals were apprehended for running a big storehouse in Artajona that was installed with a ventilator and thermal management system to dry the crops.

Police officials stopped a truck carrying 23,000 dried marijuana plants on its way to Italy, and 13,000 plants were discovered inside the facility. This equates to 50,740 kg of cannabis. 

According to the Civil Guard and police, all of these plants, as well as the plants that were still growing on the plantation, had been destroyed and had a worth of roughly 30 million euros when manufactured into CBD.

If mass production of more than 400,000 cannabis plants may operate quietly for several years, it is due to its seeming legality, says El Mundo.

In Spain, cannabis is not legalized, but its usage and, notably, manufacture are carefully regulated.

Production is permitted as long as it is for private, industrial, or medicinal uses. Additionally, CBD is illegal in Spain, despite its usage in medicinal treatments. 

Similarly, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is produced from cannabis plants and is the principal component of the narcotic marijuana, is also banned in the country.

To be able to manufacture without fear, the culture officer of the plantation said that he was cultivating marijuana for "industrial purposes."

However, the investments made, as well as the ultimate destination of this culture, alerted police officials, who launched a probe in 2021 into this cannabis farm with dubious legality. 

For good reason, cannabis plants were already planned to be sent to nations such as Switzerland or Italy which are capable of manufacturing it into cannabidiol and other derivatives.