Alex Trelinski
FIVE people have been arrested in the Barcelona and Valencia areas for smuggling banned chemicals that ended up in Russia via third parties.
The Policia Nacional and the Tax Agency swooped on addresses in Barcelona, Sant Cugat del Valles, Matadepera and Abrera- all in Catalunya as well as Betera in Valencia.
The arrests were part of Operation Probirka after 13,000 kilos of a chemical substance destined for Russia were seized last October by customs officers at the port of Barcelona.
READ MORE:
- ‘Terrorists’ blamed for sinking of Russian cargo ship off coast of Spain
- Ukrainian sailor who sank Russian oligarch’s yacht in Mallorca speaks out
The material was regarded as a precursor of chemical weapons or nerve agents, as well as others that were precursors of explosives.
The smuggling gang used intermediaries and shell companies in Kyrgyzstan and Armenia to transfer chemical products to the purchaser in Moscow.
No further details about the detainees has been made public.
House searches in Spain yielded €70,000 euros and an array of documents which are being analysed.
The investigation remains open and information over smuggling activities linked to Russia is still being followed up.
