DRUG BUST: Arrests made after Brits help mafia gang smuggle drugs through Campo de Gibraltar

GUARDIA CIVIL officers have arrested 14 alleged members of a mafia gang from Italy who police claim trafficked drugs through the Campo de Gibraltar with the help of British smugglers.

Spanish police officers working with those from Italy’s Carabinieri made the arrests in connection with an investigation into the Marranella gang.

The detainees are suspected of drugs smuggling, falsifying official documents, kidnapping and road crimes as well as of being engaged in organised crime.

Police sources said the gang were trafficking hashish that was bound for Rome through the Campo de Gibraltar with the help of a group of British citizens.

British citizens were among those arrested along with Spanish nationals and Romanians.

Members of the gang are also believed to have kidnapped two Italian citizens in the Malaga Province town of Manilva in March 2018.

A further kidnapping is believed to have taken place in October when the gang allegedly targeted a rival group of drugs smugglers.

Police said some of those arrested were wanted in connection with offences in their home countries. Proceedings are now set to be taken to court as the case continues.