Spain: Hells Angels arrested for cocaine smuggling

FOUR Canadian members of the Hells Angels biker gang have been arrested in north-west Spain for allegedly smuggling half a tonne of cocaine into the country with the aim of distributing it.

The Hells Angels had been under surveillance by an number of law enforcement groups. Picture: Getty

The Interior Ministry said the men, all Canadians, were arrested near the coastal city of Pontevedra, where one had arrived by yacht, allegedly having sailed from Colombia with 500kg of drugs.

One of the three men who met the yacht was “a known member” of the San Diego chapter of the Hells Angels and another had been under investigation for suspected drug smuggling by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a statement said.

The smuggling operation had been under police surveillance since July 30 and culminated when officers raided two vans loaded with cocaine and arrested the Canadians.

In a separate operation, police arrested two other persons whose nationality was not disclosed but who were “responsible for the delivery of the drug” to Spain.

The arrests were the result of collaboration between Spanish police and the US Drug Enforcement Agency, Canada’s mounted police, Europol and France’s tax authority.