Police raid Italian drug trafficking group based in Catalonia

Catalan Mossos d'Esquadra police have carried out a raid against an Italian drug trafficking group based in Catalonia in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Police expect to detain around 20 people from the group, which smuggles hashish and marijuana internationally.

Law enforcement agents entered several sites across Catalonia, including spots in Barcelona, Piera (Anoia County), Sant Esteve Sesrovires, Terrassa, Badalona and Dosrius (Maresme County).

The trafficking group is based in Milan, northern Italy, where another police raid was underway.

The investigation is part of a joint effort between the Mossos' criminal investigation unit and the Italian Direzione Centrale Servizi Antidroga, Guardia di Finanza and Europol.

Neo-Nazi arrests 

Police also carried out an operation against Neo-Nazi group Combat 18 on Tuesday morning. 

The Mossos d'Esquadra arrested at least four people in a joint operation with Spain's National Police against the organization linked to white supremacism. 

A man and a woman were arrested in Sentmenat (Vallès Occidental County), 30km north of Barcelona. Officers came across marijuana plants there and related equipment. 

The other two arrests, also a man and a woman, took place in Mollerussa (Pla d'Urgell County), in western Catalonia. 

A total of ten properties were searched in Catalonia, including in Prat de Llobregat (Baix Llobregat County), Navarcles (Bages) and Lloret de Mar (Selva). 

Spain's National Police carried out related operations in Arganda del Rey (Madrid), Talavera de la Reina (Castilla–La Mancha), Lugo (Galicia) and Málaga (Andalusia).