Police in Spain said Wednesday they had arrested overnight six people suspected of money laundering and criminal conspiracy in an operation media reports said was linked to the Russian mafia.
"This operation has resulted so far in six arrests," a spokeswoman for the regional police in the northeastern region of Catalonia told AFP.
The six are suspected of conspiracy, forgery and money laundering, she said but refused to confirm if the arrests were related or not to the activities of the Russian mafia.
According to the online edition of daily newspaper El Pais, the six people arrested are prominent members of the Russian mafia. They were arrested in several cities in Catalonia, including Barcelona and Tarragona, it added.
The arrests were coordinated by the anti-corruption prosecutors in Barcelona and Madrid. In March 69 people, including 24 in Spain, were arrested in several European countries in an operation against the Russian mafia.
