The National Police have apprehended three individuals aged between 37 and 51, as suspected offenders of a public health crime due to their organisation of rituals at a rural site in Tegueste (Tenerife) involving psychoactive and hallucinogenic substances, some of which were highly potent and distributed to participants attending these gatherings.
In a statement, the Canary Islands Police Headquarters clarified that the inquiry commenced after officers from the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Provincial Information Brigade discovered through various sources that an alleged group was promoting retreats on the island where, under the guise of achieving enhanced health and spiritual wellness, substances could be supplied to attendees to intensify their experiences.
Initially, the organisers did not disclose the retreat’s location to interested parties. It was only shortly before the event took place, following the completion of a registration fee payment between 150 and 500 euros, that they revealed where the retreat would occur.
Law enforcement stated that this strategy was implemented to bolster the security measures in place and, presumably, to avoid interference from security authorities.
Ayahuasca, Monkfish, Toad, Bufo, LSD and 1,200 Euros
Investigators, during court-authorised searches at the rural premises, confiscated various psychoactive substances including ayahuasca, a psychoactive concoction known to alter the perception of time and space.
They also came across snuff, a tobacco powder preparation intended to heighten the effects of the confiscated substances to further disrupt states of consciousness; secretions from the bufo toad, a potent hallucinogen; substances from the kambo frog, which induce significant physiological responses such as heightened heart rates or lowered blood pressure; St. Peter’s cactus, whose principal psychoactive ingredient is mescaline; LSD; and 1,200 euros in cash.
Ultimately, after identifying the primary suspect, a 51-year-old man believed to be the leading organiser of the retreat, along with two accomplices aged 37 and 44, the authorities arrested them and transported them to the police stations.
The three individuals, after providing their statements at the police station, along with the report compiled for this purpose, were handed over to the relevant judicial authority.
