The Spanish National Police Corps said on Saturday that it had detained seven citizens of Ukraine, Latvia and Spain, who were illegally selling weapons to the countries of North Africa and the Middle East in violation of an arms embargo
MADRID (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th November, 2020) The Spanish National Police Corps said on Saturday that it had detained seven citizens of Ukraine, Latvia and Spain, who were illegally selling weapons to the countries of North Africa and the Middle East in violation of an arms embargo.
Earlier this week, Spain's ABC newspaper reported that there were Russian citizens among those detained, but this information was not subsequently confirmed.
According to the police, the detentions were part of a two-year operation, carried out by the National Police Corps, Catalan law enforcement agency Mossos de Escuadra and Europol in the cities of Barcelona, Valencia and Alicante. The suspects are charged with money laundering, participating in a criminal organization and arms smuggling.
The police added that there was a split in the criminal group accompanied by extortion and mutual threats aimed at gaining control over the sea routes used for the supply of weapons from Ukraine to various destinations, mainly North Africa and the Middle East, especially in the conflict zones, which are under an international arms embargo.
The group has already managed to launder more than 10 million euros ($11.8 million), the police said.
According to a court verdict, the group's three leaders will remain in custody pending trial, while 18 real estate objects were sequestered and 50 bank accounts were frozen.
