Twelve Spaniards and one Moroccan - members of what has been described as one of the most active drug trafficking gangs operating in the Canary Islands - have been arrested in a series of raids in Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria.

According to a Guardia Civil statement released yesterday, the gang had laundered part of the proceeds by investing in local business such as restaurants and bars, and buying property, while the rest was diverted to bank accounts in Morocco and Melilla.

A total of 800kg of cannabis has been confiscated, 300kg of which was discovered in a lorry on board a ferry travelling from Fuertventura to Las Palmas while the remaining 500kg was found during a search of a chalet on the outskirts of Pájara in southern Fuertventura.

It seems that the drugs were smuggled from north Africa using high-powered motor launches, four of which have been confiscated.

Sixteen bank accounts have been blocked and embargoes have been imposed on several chalets, apartments, and garages, as well as two restaurants and a bar, in Puerto del Rosario, Cotillo and Antigua.