Spanish police said today they had arrested some 250 people in the past five weeks as part of a sweeping crackdown on Colombian gangs operating in the capital.
Among those arrested was a 28-year-old suspected hitman - accused of killing a Colombian national in late August - and his two accomplices, who were holding a kidnapped Colombian at the time of their arrest, the police said in a statement.
Also arrested were five members of the same family, allegedly specialized in the armed robbery of jewelry shops, as well as three people suspected of planning attacks on shops that offer cut-price international phone calls.
Suspected drug traffickers, thieves, forgers of documents, and illegal immigrants were also among those arrested, the statement said.
The "Ludeco" operation was launched on October 19 in a bid to stamp out the violence that has plagued the Spanish capital since the summer, with a wave of killings of Colombian nationals and robberies of jewelry and telephone shops.
The operation focuses on targeted surveillance of Madrid's Colombian and Equadorian communities, a method that has been criticized by rights groups.
AFP