A roundup of the latest news on Thursday

Police smash seven ‘violent’ crime groups on Spain’s Costa del Sol

Spanish police said Wednesday they had dismantled seven criminal organisations operating in Costa del Sol, arresting 55 “highly violent” people and seizing nearly nine tonnes of drugs.

The police operations, carried out over the past month, were part of an effort to weaken organised crime in the popular Mediterranean resort area in southern Spain, which has large foreign communities, the National Police said in a statement.

Among those detained were 10 French nationals accused of involvement in the kidnapping of a Moroccan man last year in Marbella.

Two other alleged members of the same group were arrested in connection with the attempted murder of two Swedish nationals in December.

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Police said the victims narrowly escaped by jumping from a 30-metre (98-foot) embankment after armed men intercepted them in a ride-hailing vehicle.

Another French gang targeted by police was allegedly responsible for violent robberies against rival drug traffickers.

Authorities said the group used a small utility vehicle with a hidden compartment to transport weapons without attracting attention.

Police described the 55 suspects as “highly violent and highly specialised”.

Officers seized 8,984 kilograms (19,800 pounds) of hashish and cocaine, along with 37 firearms and more than €150,000 ($172,000) in cash.

Spanish authorities have expressed growing concern over the presence of foreign organised crime groups along the Costa del Sol, where they can easily blend into the region’s large expatriate communities and crowds of tourists.

Spain is a gateway to Europe for North African hashish and South American cocaine, making the region a magnet for international criminal gangs.

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Journalist denies receiving leaked documents from Spain’s top prosecutor

A journalist on Wednesday denied in court receiving confidential information from Spain’s top prosecutor, whose unprecedented trial on accusations of leaking documents to damage the political opposition has embarrassed the government.

Álvaro García Ortiz is the first serving attorney general to face trial in Spanish history, in one of several legal affairs dogging Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s minority coalition.

He is accused of leaking case files about businessman Alberto González Amador, who is under investigation for alleged tax fraud and the partner of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, Madrid’s influential right-wing leader.

In 2024, media reports based on leaked correspondence suggested González Amador had proposed a plea deal, admitting the alleged offences to avoid a trial and imprisonment.

José Precedo of the El Diario digital outlet, the journalist who first reported the correspondence, told the court García Ortiz “never passed me a document in the 22 years of my career”.

“I know he is innocent because I know the source, but I cannot reveal it due to professional secrecy,” Precedo added.

Ayuso’s conservative Popular Party accuses the Socialist-appointed Garcia Ortiz of orchestrating the leak to damage her, which he denied on the trial’s opening day on Monday.

Spanish teens smoke, drink and take fewer drugs than ever

Spanish teenagers are smoking, drinking, and using drugs less than ever before, according to the latest ESTUDES survey from Spain’s Ministry of Health.

Since records began in the 1990s, there have never been such low rates of psychoactive substance use among students aged 14 to 18, especially regarding the three most widespread drugs among young people (alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis). 

This trend, which had already been observed in previous years, goes hand in hand with an increased perception of the risks associated with these substances, although young people say they can easily access them. 

Prepared by the National Drug Plan, the 2025 ESTUDES survey analysed the responses of more than 35,000 students from public and private secondary schools across the country.

Peruvian criminal group leader arrested in Madrid

The leader of a Peruvian crime ring connected to multiple extortion schemes and contract killings was captured Wednesday in Madrid, according to Peru’s Interior Ministry.

“After patient intelligence work, the police in coordination with Madrid’s cybercrime division captured Miguel Ángel Marín in Spain today, a member of a criminal organization,” the ministry said in a statement.

It added that the arrest marked a “significant achievement in the fight against transnational organized crime.”

Authorities said Marín “was linked to murders and multiple extortions of transportation workers, artists and businessmen.”

In Peru, a security crisis has led to reported cases of extortion rocketing from about 2,400 in 2023 to over 15,300 in 2024, an increase of 540 percent. Lima topped the list, according to official figures.

With additional reporting by The Local Spain’s Editor Alex Dunham.