Police dismantle major Mediterranean trafficking network, Europol says

An international police operation led by Spanish authorities dismantled a major criminal network involved in trafficking migrants, drugs and weapons across the Western Mediterranean, the European Union police agency Europol and Spain's Civil Guard announced on Friday.

The announcement comes a week after tens of thousands of migrants stormed across the border from Morocco into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta.

Video released by Spanish authorities shows police arresting suspects and counting stacks of 50 euro bills found during the search.

The operation resulted in 77 arrests in Spain and one in Algeria. Police also seized 18 motorboats, drugs, satellite phones, a handgun and more than 25,000 euros in cash.

Spain’s Civil Guard said the network was one of the “largest criminal organisations specializing in maritime human trafficking in the Mediterranean.”

The network had a two-way smuggling route between Algeria and Spain, transporting drugs to North Africa and cramming boats with migrants for the return trip to the Spanish coast.