The detainee advertised through social networks and websites the celebration of these rituals in which the consumption of different psychoactive substances was offered, such as ayahuasca, bufo toad, kambo frog and San Pedro cactus.
Thanks to citizen collaboration through the email sectasdestructivas@policia.es, investigators were able to begin the investigation into the activities of this group.
Agents of the National Police have arrested in the municipality of Santa Lucía de Tirajana (Gran Canaria) a woman who organized neo-shamanic rituals where prohibited psychoactive substances dangerous to health were supplied. The arrested woman is accused of allegedly being responsible for crimes against public health and professional intrusion.
This is an operation carried out by the General Information Commissariat and the Provincial Information Brigade of Las Palmas, under the direction of the Court of Instruction number Three of San Bartolomé de Tirajana (Las Palmas), which began thanks to citizen collaboration through the email sectas.destructivas@policia.es.
The agents intervened when a ritual was about to begin in which these psychoactive substances were offered, which act as a tool to recruit and control attendees, as well as a source of financing for the organizer of the meetings. In some cases, these substances are used as a substitute therapy for conventional medicine, which facilitates mental manipulation and causes consumers a situation of greater vulnerability.
Ayahuasca, bufo toad, kambo frog and San Pedro cactus
The organizer advertised these rituals and the psychoactive substances provided, such as ayahuasca, bufo toad, kambo frog , San Pedro cactus , and others, through social media and websites. During the investigation, it was discovered that minors sometimes participated in these rituals. The search conducted during the police operation in which this woman was arrested yielded numerous containers with various substances, utensils used for their consumption and dosage, and a large quantity of items and beads commonly used by shamans from the Amazon basin during these types of rituals.
“ New Age cults ”
According to researchers, these types of substances are commonly used in ceremonies practiced by so-called " new age sects ", specifically in neo-shamanic rituals.
The specialists in charge of these investigations have enabled the email address sectas.destructivas@policia.es so that any citizen can report related facts, guaranteeing, at all times, anonymity and confidentiality.
