Spanish Police Breaks Major Russian Criminal Gang

6/13/2008 1:32 PM ET

(RTTNews) - Spanish police have broken up a large Russian mafia gang in a major crack down in southern Spain on Friday, said officials.

More than 400 police officers took part in the operation ordered by Judge Baltasar Garzon and arrested 18 people, including the gang leaders, reported AFP.

The Tambovskaya-Malyshevskay gang is the "largest criminal organization of Russian origin in the world" and has been "totally dismantled", police said in a statement after the raids.

The statement said that the gang members "planned their criminal activities in Russia, in several countries of the European Union and in the United States" from their base in southern Spain.

The gang was also involved money laundering through financial institutions in Switzerland, Cyprus and Latvia, and a network of companies," the statement added.

by RTT Staff Writer