Police at Madrid airport intercepted 71 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a shipment of roses sent from Colombia, newspaper El Tiempo reported Monday.
Two Colombians and five Spaniards have been arrested in several Spanish cities for their part in the operation, according to the Spanish police.
The interception and arrests are a part of a Spanish police operation that has been underway since 2009 when they seized a truck containing 800 kilos of cocaine dissolved in polypropylene. The seizure led them to a Spanish businessman living in Colombia who smuggled drugs into Spain hidden in legal shipments.
“Finally he decided to transport an amount of cocaine in a shipment of roses destined for Barajas Airport [Madrid],” Spanish police told the French Press Agency AFP, when they were able to intercept the drugs and arrest “all members of the organization,” whose identities were not disclosed.
On January 18 the Spanish police seized another 300 kilos of cocaine in Madrid in an operation in which 25 people were arrested, including both Spaniards and Colombians, and reportedly dismantled the largest cocaine laboratory in Europe.
