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Spanish drug gangs fighting police with Ukrainian weapons – media

Officers have been attacked with military-grade firearms during raids, local media reports
Alejandro Martinez Velez

Criminal gangs in southern Spain have obtained modern military-grade weapons which were said to have been smuggled from Ukraine, El Independiente news outlet reported this week. The problem has reached such proportions that law enforcement has demanded the government take “urgent measures” to deal with it, the outlet has said.

The number of Western-made combat weapons ending up in the hands of the criminals has increased in recent weeks, El Independiente said. According to sources, they arrived in Spain through a Ukraine-linked black market for weapons from Western shipments to Kiev.

Last September, the Spanish Civil Guard reported that it had seized two US-made assault rifles – an Arad Lite AR-10 and APC223 – both with “NATO caliber ammunition.” They were seized during a raid on a drug-smuggling gang in Barcelona, the report said.