Helicopter at Vuelta Cycling Race Helps Spanish Police Seize 40 Marijuana Plants

A helicopter filming the 2019 Vuelta a Espana helped lead Catalan police to the seizure of 40 marijuana plants.

ESPN's Adriana Garcia reported how the helicopter, while tracking the closing parts of Saturday's eighth stage, captured images of an apartment rooftop containing "plants spread out across two abandoned plots."

Eurosport UK shared the images:

The sharing of the pictures online alerted Mossos, the Catalan law enforcement bureau.

A Mossos spokesperson credited those pictures for leading to a successful raid, per Garcia: "That has helped us to seize 40 marijuana plants. No one has been arrested, but the investigation is still ongoing to find those responsible."

Per Garcia, Spanish law permits the growth of marijuana for personal use, but there is no guideline for how much of the plant is allowed to be grown.

Nikias Arndt of Team Sunweb won the stage, which finished in Igualada, Barcelona.