Spanish civil guard takes part in int'l operation against trafficking ring

The Spanish Civil Guard confirmed on Tuesday they had participated in an international operation against a drug trafficking ring which has led to 29 arrests.

Operation Spax saw the Civil Guard collaborate with French, Dutch and Belgian police with raids carried out simultaneously in all four countries.

As well as arrests, the operation saw the seizure of a ton and a half of hashish, cash, vehicles, computers, telephones and numerous documents which authorities hope will give them further leads into the activities of the organization.

The drugs were smuggled into Europe in a total of 16 vehicles with hidden compartments, which transported it from the Spanish North African enclave of Melilla to Malaga from where it was distributed to northern Europe, via Madrid and Barcelona.

One of the gang's supposed leaders was detained in Madrid, where a workshop for adapting the vehicles was also discovered in the Villaverde neighborhood in the south of the city.

Another arm of the organization was based in Barcelona and contained equipment to manufacture fake visas. There were used to help smuggle Moroccan and Algerian immigrants into Europe, with Belgium as their final destination. Endit