Spanish police seized three tonnes of cocaine and arrested nine people after intercepting a fishing boat in international waters in a second major drugs bust in recent days, the Interior Ministry said today.
Four Spaniards, a Cameroonian and a Guinean were arrested at sea while an operation in Madrid and the northwestern region of Galicia - a main entry point for drugs - brought further arrests of people suspected of smuggling drugs from South America and selling them in Europe.
News of the haul came on the same day the government said it had busted another drugs ring on the south coast.
Police arrested 27 people and seized three tonnes of hashish, a cache of arms and a fleet of luxury cars.
The suspects, from Spain, France, Morocco, Albania and Algeria, are alleged to be part of a ring that smuggled drugs from Morocco to France using luxury cars stolen from Marbella, a glitzy playground for the rich on the Mediterranean.
The thieves would break into wealthy homes while people slept to steal their car keys, threatening violence when they were discovered, the ministry said in a statement.
French police also cooperated in "Operation Mikra", the result of a meeting in October when the two countries agreed to team up to combat hashish trafficking from Morocco to France via Spain.