Spain busts major smuggling ring trafficking drugs, migrants and weapons

Spanish police have arrested 78 people in a major crackdown on what authorities describe as one of the largest smuggling networks uncovered in the country. The criminal group operated a two-way smuggling route between Spain and Algeria. Outbound trips were used to transport synthetic drugs into Algeria, while the return journeys were exploited to smuggle migrants and weapons into Spain. The bust highlights the increasingly sophisticated nature of transnational criminal networks operating across the western Mediterranean.