This is the story behind the early-morning police raid on Malaga's main Calle Larios shopping street

Operational details have been revealed from Wednesday morning's police raid on an office in Malaga's Calle Larios by heavily armed Guardia Civil officers who swarmed from half a dozen vehicles.

Officers searched a law firm and arrested the founder and CEO of the firm, a well-known criminal lawyer with more than 25 years of experience. It was one of a number of simultaneous strikes in five Spanish provinces against a group of drug traffickers, led by Albanian nationals and based in Madrid and the Costa del Sol, who arre considered one of the most active gangs in Europe.

The investigation dates from September 2021, when officers from the Organised Crime and Anti-Drugs Team (EDOA) of the Algeciras Guardia Civil detected a group of people trying to smuggle a large quantity of cocaine hidden in a container through the city's port.

Subsequently, in January 2022, two tons of cocaine were seized in Algeciras which had arrived hidden in a container from Guayaquil, Ecuador, carrying frozen hake. Due to this intervention, the officers were able to demonstrate that those responsible for the drugs were allegedly members of an organisation under investigation: the Farruku clan.

During the course of the operation, investigators seized, in different raids, ten tonnes of cocaine and ten of hashish, which is attributed to the group of Albanians.

The co-ordinated raids on Wednesday morning this week resulted in 17 arrests in Malaga, Cadiz, Madrid, Barcelona and Toledo. There are also 20 individuals under investigation throughout Spain. So far, 25 vehicles and 22 properties with an approximate value of more than 4.2 million euros have been seized.

The investigators have not only focused on dismantling the clan, with the arrest of its main leaders, but also its corporate and logistical infrastructure to move the drugs, hide them and launder money. This is where the lawyer arrested in Malaga, who is being investigated for money laundering, allegedly came into play, according to sources close to the case.