3 Britons held in Spain over ton of cocaine

THREE Britons have been arrested in connection with one of Spain’s largest ever drug busts.

Just over half a ton of cocaine in around 500 packets was seized as it was being off-loaded from a lorry driven by a Briton at a warehouse between the holiday resorts of Almunecar and Salobrena, near Malaga.

A similar amount was found in an underground safe house in Zarautz, on Spain’s north coast – bringing the total haul to 1.2 tons. Police forced their way into the underground hideout using a JCB digger, and found more than 600 packages wrapped in plastic. A cannabis plantation was also found inside an abandoned house on the land.

Two Spaniards were also arrested along with the three Britons, described by police as members of a ‘criminal organisation dedicated to international drugs trafficking’. Detectives said the cocaine was smuggled into northern Spain before being driven south using lorries registered to a haulage firm used as a front for the operation.