Bulgaria’s Chief Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (CDCOC) in co-operation with police in Spain seized 2370 kg of hashish and arrested six Bulgarians in a police operation at the Spanish coast near Punta Unbría in the province of Huelva on January 7 2008.

The detained were aged between 25 and 34, CDCOC director Kiril Georgiev said at a news conference. Of the six, three did not have previous criminal record in Bulgaria, while one had been sentenced 11 years ago for illegally crossing the border. Police was still to identify the other two detained.

The drugs were said to be worth close to 3.2 million euro according to experts. It had been smuggled from Morocco to the Spanish cost by motorboats. According to Georgiev, it was probable that the six Bulgarians transported the drugs.

Georgiev announced also that CDCOC busted a human trafficking ring from Bulgaria to the Netherlands during a joint operation with Dutch police.

On January 18, Dutch police arrested two Bulgarians, aged 32 and 34, who were said to have been in charge of organising trafficking of women for prostitution, Interior Ministry media statement said.

At least two of the victims of the ring had already testified against the Bulgarians.