Spanish police on Tuesday said they had broken up the local operations of a powerful Mexican drug cartel designated a terrorist organisation by US President Donald Trump, making 20 arrests.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel smuggled “large shipments of cocaine and methamphetamine” from South America for distribution in Spain and other European countries, Spanish police said in a statement.
The investigation started earlier this year when police detected drugs hidden in heavy industrial machinery, which was stored on estates near Madrid and the neighbouring province of Ávila and transported across Spain.
Among the detainees were two “priority targets” of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as well as suspected members of the Italian Camorra mafia dedicated to transporting the drugs abroad.
The operation, carried out jointly with the DEA and Dutch authorities, seized 1.8 tonnes of cocaine, cash, cryptocurrency, weapons and vehicles.
Spain is a major gateway to Europe for North African hashish and South American cocaine, making the country a magnet for international criminal gangs.
