Spanish Civil Guards arrest Europe's most wanted drug barons

The Spanish Civil Guard confirmed on Friday they had detained one of Europe's most wanted drug barons in an operation which took place in the town of Banalmedina, close to Malaga.

The arrest of 44-year-old Robert Dawes, who had been under observation since 2007, was a joint operation codenamed Halbet IV involving the Civil Guard, the British National Crime Agency and French police and coordinated by Europol.

150 mobile phones, 40 computers and laptops, as well as 30 hard drives, 450,000 euros in cash, documents and 8 vehicles were also seized as part of the operation.

Dawes is considered to be the leader of the most important criminal organization in the UK and Europe, dedicated to drug smuggling, money laundering and also murder.

Dawes is suspected of holding meetings with representatives of South American drug cartels and according to police he would import "furniture from China and fruit containers from South America which he would fill with large quantities of cocaine," while his organization also smuggled heroin from Turkey and Afghanistan to the UK.

Dawes is also being investigated in Holland for a series of murders carried out over the past two years which formed part of his efforts to gain control of other European drug markets. Endit