Twenty-four people have been arrested and a further nine charged on suspicion of stealing luxury vehicles in Europe for transportation to Morocco and eventual sale in Senegal and Mauretania.
The network, highly organised, was divided into different cells. The group would steal vehicles in Italy, bring them to Spain where new papers etc would be prepared before being shipped to Morocco via Algeciras or Tarifa for eventual sale in Senegal and Mauretania.
The arrests took place in Barcelona, Cádiz, Toledo, Vizcaya and Alicante. Five homes were raided during the police operation and 13 vehicles seized. The detainees are all Spanish and Moroccan nationals.