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Three tonnes of drug seized as police claim to have broken large-scale drugs network

By Alyssa McMurtry

MADRID – Spanish police on Tuesday claimed to have broken one of Europe’s largest drug networks after seizing three tonnes (6,600 pounds) of cocaine and arresting 12 suspected traffickers.

Local media reported that weapons and 1.2 million euros ($1.3 million) in cash were captured in the operation last month.

Those arrested included buyers from the Netherlands and Britain as well as Spaniards transporting the drugs, police said in a statement.

El Pais newspaper quoted police sources as saying the drugs were due to be delivered to a crime gang based in the Costa del Sol region on Spain’s southeast coast.

Police said the cocaine arrived by boat and was ultimately destined for the British and Dutch drugs markets.

“We are talking about two very important organizations,” El Pais’ police source said. “Few have the capacity these days to acquire and transport this mind-blowing quantity.”

Police described the seizure in Spain’s northwestern Galicia region as “the biggest for this type of drug on Galician soil since 1999”.

The ring was discovered when police intercepted a van carrying 700 kgs of “perfectly camouflaged” cocaine. The rest of the haul was found in a warehouse in Galicia.

Spain is a key drug smuggling route into Europe. Traditionally hashish was smuggled across from Morocco but the trade has developed to include cocaine either smuggled directly from Latin America or via Africa.

In December, police seized 1.4 tonnes of cocaine from Colombia that was compressed to make it look like wood.

The Costa del Sol, once dubbed the “Costa del Crime” for the large number of British criminals who sought sanctuary there in the 1970s and 1980s, is still a popular location for criminals from Britain and around Europe.

In November, Spanish police arrested suspected drug trafficker Michael Roden, one of Britain’s 10 most-wanted fugitives. In the same month, they arrested Briton Robert Dawes at his luxury villa on the Costa del Sol over claims he was behind Europe’s largest drugs ring.

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