MADRID (Reuters) – A red Ferrari worth 250,000 euros ($ 298,800.00) and an arsenal of weapons including revolvers and a Japanese sword were seized when 12 members of Madrid’s largest drug gang were arrested, police said in Sunday.
The gang was very violent, according to the Spanish National Police, which found three daggers and several automatic weapons during a series of operations, along with 600 kg of cocaine.
About 700,000 euros ($ 836,640.00) in cash were seized, along with 20 expensive cars, including Ferrari.
An “anti-drug lawyer” performed legal functions for the organization, including money laundering, the police said, while gang members used code names to refer to other members of the organization or apartments used to store cocaine.
The gang members lived on luxury properties, but had no sign of legal employment.
“According to investigators, it was the largest cocaine distribution organization in the Spanish capital,” the police said in a statement.
A police video showed police officers removing a bag full of money from a compartment hidden on the roof of an apartment during an operation.
The leader of the gang, who is Moroccan, made the connection between drug gangs from Colombia, Morocco, Spain and northern Europe.
The Spanish police worked with counterparts in Colombia in the operation.
(Reporting by Graham Keeley; Editing by Bernadette Baum)