Nine people allegedly involved in a wide-ranging drug-trafficking ring were arrested in Spain and Portugal, where two tons of Colombian cocaine were simultaneously seized, the Spanish gendarmerie announced on Friday.

The operation, which was coordinated by Europol and carried out in cooperation with the DEA, the US drug enforcement agency, was carried out on Monday in several cities in Galicia (northwest Spain), as well as in Monsau (northern Portugal), on the border of the two countries of Iberia.

It led to the arrest of nine Spaniards, alleged to be members of the Pituros gang, which has been “linked to drug trafficking in Galicia since the 1980s,” the Spanish gendarmerie said in a statement.

The operation, which began in February, resulted in the seizure of “two tons of cocaine” hidden on boats or properties off the Portuguese coast, according to the same source.

According to the Spanish gendarmerie, the members of the ring allegedly had “close” relations with “the main Colombian cocaine traffickers” and an Albanian gang, for which some of the seized drugs were destined.

Galicia is currently considered to be one of the main entry points for cocaine in Europe. Ten days ago, on December 12, the Spanish police announced that they had seized 7.5 tons of cocaine allegedly imported by Albanian gangs in Vigo, the region’s largest port.