Spanish police detain around 50 in anti-drugs operation

The Spanish National Police force have made a series of arrests while seizing a large quantity of drugs in an operation carried out in the southwest of Spain.

The police confirm that the Operation Lupita was carried out in an area known as the 'Campo de Gibraltar' close to Gibraltar and the cities of Algeciras and La Linea de la Concepcion.

The operation involving around 200 agents is expected to conclude with around 50 arrests, while it is reported that police seized 14 tons of hashish in various stages of preparation.

The operation aimed to dismantle one of the most important drug-smuggling networks in an area which has become notorious as a drug trafficking center, due to its proximity to the coast of North-Africa less than 20 kilometers away.

Spanish state TV network RTVE reports that the operation is against an organization which "carries out its activities over all of Andalusia," (southern Spain).

Operation Lupita comes just two days after another police operation in the region ended up with nine arrests.

Police estimated that this network, which used drones to carry the drugs to shore, had been able to introduce 6 tons of hashish into Spain in recent month with a benefit of around 5 million euros.