Spain has been part of a large scale international police operation against the Georgian and Russian Mafia

Spain has been part of a large scale international police operation against the Georgian and Russian Mafia 69 arrests have been made in total across as many as six countries, most of them in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, but also some in France and Italy.24 of the arrests took place across Spain in an operation managed by the National Court.Codenamed ‘Java’ and coordinated from Spain by judge, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the arrests were carried out here by the UDYCO specialist drug and organised crime police unit, and the two regional police forces in Cataluña and the Basque Country, Los Mossos d’Esquadra and La Ertzaintza.
Most of the Spanish arrests were in Cataluña and Valencia, but there were also detentions in the Basque Country and Madrid.It’s thought those arrested in Spain were part of a money laundering operation on money obtained from criminal activity outside Spain. Most of those arrested are reported to be of Georgian origin and all are expected to make statements to the judge during this week.It’s the third large swoop against the activities of the Russian criminal groups operating in Spain, after the Avispa and Troika cases.