British students arrested in Ibiza drugs raids

Thousands of young British people head to Ibiza every summer

Spanish authorities have arrested 25 people in Ibiza, some of them British students, as part of a crackdown on drug dealers.

Police planned the raids during the summer season to catch UK gangs.

Backed up by helicopters, detectives from a special unit raided several resorts, including San Antonio which is packed with bars and nightclubs.

The raids resulted in a haul of 38,000 ecstasy tablets, 4kg of cocaine, 250g of ketamine, seven pints of GHB, and 50g of crystal MDMA, as well as almost £50,000 in cash.

Amongst those arrested are 20 Britons from London, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle, as well as two people from Ireland.

Luxury villas

The drugs ring is thought to have been led from the UK, with two branches in Ibiza - one for distributing drugs and one for establishing contacts.

It's claimed that gang members who lived overseas visited the island to collect money and supervise the operation.

It's thought they rented luxury villas on Ibiza for the main ringleaders and tourist apartments for dealers.

A hydraulic tablet press, precision weighing balances and several substances used to cut drugs were also seized.

The arrests in Ibiza were part of a joint operation by the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) and the Spanish National Guard.

Properties were searched in San Antonio, Santa Eulalia and San Jose.

A Soca spokesman said the drugs were smuggled onto the island in cars driven all the way from the UK or in the luggage of British tourists.

It's claimed that one young British woman carried 3kg of cocaine through the airport before she was stopped on 8 August.

The Foreign Office said it was aware of the arrests and that it's offering consular help on the island.

In September last year 25 British people from two gangs, one from Manchester and the other from Liverpool, were detained in a similar operation.

Six other Britons were arrested a month earlier.