Last October, the National Police dismantled the first laboratory in Spain for a new narcotic substance known as ‘rosin’. The agents arrested five people in the Canarian municipality of Arona (Santa Cruz de Tenerife), among whom were the main investigator – caught while cooking the drug – and those responsible for several cannabis clubs in Arona and Adeje.
‘Rosin’ or ‘rosin hash’ is an ultra-concentrated derivative of hashish after being subjected to different filtration, freezing and drying processes. After its subsequent pressing and purification, it becomes a substance of great purity, details the police force in a statement, which released the information this Tuesday.
In the searches carried out, 1.7 kilos of rosin, 167 cans of resin of the same substance, 54 kilos of marijuana, 145 plants and 2 kilos of hashish were seized; Likewise, the agents have seized the machinery that made up the laboratory and 15,000 euros in cash.
The agents were aware of the existence of a 29-year-old citizen of Italian nationality, who was allegedly producing a new narcotic substance from a clandestine laboratory located in a basement in Arona. With the first investigations, they verified that he regularly attended different private cannabis clubs.
After several police actions, they observed that when he left the premises, the influx of people intensified, who remained inside for a few minutes and left. This allowed us to conclude that, indeed, the sale of ‘rosin’ was taking place there.
The dismantled laboratory obtained the narcotic through the bubble hash method. With this technique, to make one kilo of ‘rosin’ they needed about 75 kilos of marijuana buds. On the other hand, the extraction was carried out with the plant wet, so the process was simplified by not having to dry it.
The buds were introduced fresh with ice and water into a bucket, where the heads of the trichomes were detached and filtered, various sieves were carried out to extract different types of ‘rosin’. Once filtered, they were collected by size and frozen, which gave rise to a paste of different colors depending on the quality of the drug.
Finally, the water was extracted from the frozen paste using a freeze-dryer and the product obtained was ‘rosin’, a very high quality hashish derivative, ready for the last step of making ‘rosin hash’ which is obtained by pressing previous. In addition, the main investigator also used a machine to apply heat, denoting great knowledge in the management of temperatures, since the purity and final quality of the product depends on it.
Finally, this substance is stored in glass bottles, and cold, to ensure a good state of conservation and maintain THC levels.
