MADRID (Reuters) – A 250,000-euro ($ 298,800) red Ferrari and an arsenal of weapons, including revolvers and a Japanese sword, were seized when 12 members of Madrid’s largest drug gang in Madrid arrested, police said Sunday.
The gang was very violent, according to Spanish national police, who found three daggers and several automatic weapons during a series of raids, along with 600 kg of cocaine.
About 700,000 euros ($ 836,640.00) in cash were seized, along with 20 expensive cars, including the Ferrari.
A ‘drug lawyer’ performed legal duties for the organization, including money laundering, police said, while gang members used code names to refer to other members of the organization or apartments that stored the cocaine.
Gang members lived in luxury properties but had no sign of legal service.
“According to investigators, it was the largest cocaine distribution organization in the Spanish capital,” police said in a statement.
A police video showed officers removing a bag full of cash from a hidden compartment in the ceiling of an apartment during a raid.
The leader of the gang, who hails from Morocco, has linked drug gangs in Colombia, Morocco, Spain and Northern Europe.
Spanish police worked with counterparts in Colombia on the operation.
(Reported by Graham Keeley; Edited by Bernadette Baum)