Special forces of the Spanish police have dismantled a drug gang that is suspected of smuggling huge amounts of marijuana to the Netherlands. It is said to be 'one of the biggest catches ever'. Two Dutch drivers have been arrested.

Spanish media report this on Thursday. In the southern Spanish provinces of Malaga, Almeria and Murcia nearly a ton (1000 kilos) of vacuum-packed marijuana was seized during raids. Forty people were arrested in total, fourteen of whom were from one family.

In Malaga, 24 people were said to have been arrested belonging to a criminal organization involved in international drug trafficking, destined mainly for the Netherlands, reports the Guardia Civil, the Spanish police.

Hawala banking
According to the police, the gang used the so-called 'hawala banking', a system of illegal underground banking. It would certainly have been 1.6 million euros.

The operation started at the end of 2018, and showed that the criminal group delivered on order to Dutch 'customers'. Because of the huge quantities involved, the gang was forced to use different marijuana suppliers because it was impossible to get so many drugs from one supplier.