Spanish police have rounded up an international gang involved in smuggling cocaine from the Dominican Republic to Madrid. Thirty kilos of drugs and stolen goods were intercepted, worth at least 100,000 euros.

Thirteen people from Spain, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Italy, Algeria, and Portugal were arrested. Some of them were employed at Madrid Barajas airport. The cocaine was being flown out of the Dominican Republic on tourist flights.

Police say that as much as 20 kilos of cocaine may have been smuggled past security each week. Gang members left the drugs in places such as rubbish bins, and airport staff accomplices would retrieve them and smuggle them outside.

The gang was also involved in hijacking lorries carrying computer equipment and domestic appliances.  

Photo of Madrid Barajs airport from Flickr/rvr