Spanish police have arrested a man alleged to be one of the biggest drug-smugglers operating on the violence-ridden stretch of southern coast close to Gibraltar.
The man, named in media reports as Antonio Tejón, is one of the two brothers who head the Castañas gang, which allegedly brings huge quantities of hashish over from Morocco on powerful speedboats.
He was detained in the early hours of Thursday after a 19-month search.
More than 100 police officers and customs agents were involved in the operation, which took place in La Línea de la Concepción, a town close to the Gibraltar border.
“After numerous investigations, officers learned that the suspect often visited a house in the town and [they] set up a surveillance team to gather information,” the national police force said.
“The operation was complicated by the area where the suspect was found, which is a neighbourhood of narrow streets inhabited by his associates.”
