Two suspected leaders of a drug trafficking gang have been arrested in Spain in connection with the seizure of 3,850 kilograms of cocaine in Rotterdam and Antwerp.

Spanish police said a total of nine Dutch and Belgian nationals were arrested in the three countries following a two-year cross-border operation.

The trail led to two luxury villas in the coastal town of Marbella where a Dutch and a Belgian man, described as ‘important figures’ by police, were detained.

Searches of the properties led to another 2300kg of cocaine being seized as well as expensive cars and digital files.

‘The two houses are in the most expensive neighbourhoods in Marbella,’ a police spokesman said. ‘The police raid houses every week, but I’ve never seen anything like this. One house had offices, three saunas and a court for playing padel.’

Spanish, Dutch and Belgian police began tracking the gang in May 2020 when a shipment of 556 kilos of cocaine hidden in a consignment of soya flour was intercepted in Brazil.

A further haul of 2300kg was seized in Antwerp in October, followed by two shipments of 586kg and 409kg in Rotterdam. The consignments were bound for businesses registered in Belgium and the Netherlands.