Spain is claiming Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel was trying to sell and distribute drugs in Europe after the "largest ever" meth bust.
On Thursday, Spanish police revealed they had seized 1.8 tons of crystal meth that the Sinaloa Cartel was trying to sell in Europe in what's considered the country's "biggest-ever seizure" of the narcotic.
Five individuals were arrested during a raid in the eastern Alicante province, one of whom is a Mexican running the cartel's Spanish operation, according to CBS News.
"This is the biggest-ever seizure of crystal meth in Spain and the second largest in Europe," Antonio Martinez Duarte, head of the Spanish police's drug trafficking and organized crime unit, told reporters.
The group used houses in isolated areas in the area of Valencia to stock smuggled shipments of methamphetamines before using vehicles with false bottoms to transport them on to other European countries, according to CBS News.
Spanish authorities shared a video on social media showing officers removing bags of the alleged drugs that were hidden inside machinery and vehicle bottoms.
Mexico's oldest, largest, and most violent criminal group, the Sinaloa Cartel, still holds strong influence despite the arrest of its head leader, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, and his son.
Three Spaniards and a Romanian national were also detained by police during the bust, seizing five cars, documents, a weapon, and cash.
Duarte believes it was a one-off trafficking operation and that "Mexican organizations are not permanently based" in Spain.
Although Spain is considered one of the main gateways to drugs in Europe, seizures of synthetic narcotics are still uncommon, as most traffickers typically deal in cannabis and cocaine.
