James Warren
A GROUP of Asian nationals have been arrested on the Costa del Sol for conspiracy to traffic large quantities of ketamine disguised in paintingsto Taiwan.
The arrests were made in the resort of Benalmadena under the operation Roque carried out by agents of the Policia Nacional.
Officers were alerted to the scheme after a suspicious number of packages were coming from an address in the costa resort destined for Taiwan.
Once the property was located, police raided the site, seizing large qualities of the hallucinogen as well as a number of packages of marijuana.
The neatly vacuum sealed packages were hidden in large paintings and wrapped ready to be sent via regular transport companies to the far east.
In total, six kilograms of ketamine was seized, along with 600 grams of hashish, 35,000 in cash, phones and false documentation.
Four men and two women between 28-39 years old, all of Asian origin, have been arrested for belonging to a criminal organisation, false documents and living in Spain illegally.
These arrests come after the first sting in the Roque operation in November last year detained three Asian men in Antequera for cultivating 1,949 cannabis plants on the La Azucarera Industrial Estate.
