Six people, including four senior police officers, were arrested in Málaga yesterday accused of corruption and 'revealing secret information'. To be more specific, they are accused of stealing evidence gathered during police operations against local mafia gangs.

One of the four officers is the head of the Costa del Sol's drugs and organised crime division (UDYCO) and reports directly to the regional police chief. Yesterday's arrests were the fruit of a two-year internal affairs investigation. The six suspects spent last night behind bars and face further interrogation today prior to a preliminary court hearing.

This is not the first time the UDYCO has been the subject of an internal inquiry. Last July, the unit's former boss Valentín Bahut was charged with providing information that enabled an Italian drugs trafficker to evade a European arrest warrant. If convicted, Bahut faces an eighteen-month jail term followed by an eleven-year ban from holding any kind of public office.