MADRID, October 28 (RIA Novosti) — A mafia group were arrested by the Spanish police on the charge of the trafficking of 420 kilograms of cocaine from Latin America into Europe through the port of Barcelona, the National Police Corps (NPC) reported Tuesday.
The operation to arrest the gang members took place in Tarragona, about 100 kilometers from Barcelona, in collaboration with French Police, according to a statement on the NPC website. Considering that the gang belonged to a Marseille-Leon-Nice mafia network, the French Central Office for Combating Drug Trafficking (OCRTIS) was invited to participate in the investigations.
The investigations uncovered that the gang was planning to transport large consignments of drugs from Peru to Barcelona, which was then to be delivered to Tarragona.
During the search, police confiscated AK-47 guns, other firearms, bullet-proof vests and the 420 kilograms of cocaine.
Among the eight arrested were five French nationals, who face a 75-year jail sentence, charged with the illegal possession of firearms, drug trafficking and money laundering.
