Barcelona – Police arrested 11 alleged members of a drugs trafficking ring in swoops in Spain and France, and seized 189 kilogrammes of cocaine, Spanish police said Wednesday.

The group was hooked into the organised crime underground operating in France's biggest port of Marseille, police said in a statement.

Three people were arrested in Spain, including the French head of the ring, and his Russian girlfriend, and eight in France, the statement said.

Police also seized 189 kilogrammes (416 pounds) of cocaine at the port in Spain's northeastern city of Barcelona, it said. The drugs were hidden in a vehicle from the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean.

The statement said the arrested group was preparing to import a significant stash of cocaine for distribution in France and Spain.

Spain is one of the main points of entry for drugs into Europe, including hashish from northern Africa and cocaine from Latin America.

AFP / Expatica