Britons held after Ibiza 'drugs ring' arrests

Officers believe they have rounded up the most active gang on the party island after a series of raids over the weekend.

The group is understood to have rented luxury villas for its ringleaders while recruiting people to distribute drugs in popular nightclubs. During a major operation on the Balearic island, police seized 38,000 ecstasy tablets, 8.8lb (4kg) of cocaine, 8.8oz (250g) of ketamine, seven pints (four litres) of GHB, and 1.8oz (50g) of crystal MDMA.

About 56,000 euro (45,840) was also recovered as part of Operation Arrow – a joint venture by the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency and the Spanish National Guard.

The 14 men and 11 women arrested included two Irish nationals, a Czech national, a Slovak and a Spaniard, along with 20 Britons from London, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle.

The drugs ring is understood to have been led from the UK with two branches in Ibiza – one in charge of establishing contacts and another responsible for distributing the drugs.

These were smuggled on to the island in cars coming from the UK or in the luggage of British tourists flying to Ibiza. One young British woman is alleged to have carried 6.6lb (3kg) of cocaine through the airport before she was stopped on August 8.

The authorities believe the suspects were trying to build infrastructure for drug distribution.

A dozen properties were searched in San Antonio de Portmany, Santa Eulalia and San Jose de Sa Talaia during the weekend operation.