Costa del Sol arms trafficking

International arms trafficking groups are the oldest international criminal groups in Spain. They are principally Arabs, who have a long history in the Costa del Sol region, from which they manage their business throughout the world. In their wake many other crime organisation have arrived, mainly looking for secure territories for money laundering. Colombian narcotic cartels, essentially involved in cocaine trafficking, have used Galicia (in Northwest Spain) as a bridgepoint to Europe since the mid 1980s. Besides these cartels' well-known relations with Galician smugglers, they have also established contacts in other coastal regions in Spain.Centering on Costa del Sol, in Southern Spain. Their main activity consisted of laundering the money generated in businesses such as drug trafficking, arm trafficking, extortion and kidnapping. After creating operating bases and incorporating new and powerful criminal organisations, they have achieved a division of labour so perfect that they have been able to operate virtually unnoticed by the majority of the general public. The only violent incidences in Spain have been mainly a consequence of internal power conflicts in the organisation headquarters. International criminal organisations in Spain always have tried to avoid the ostentatious violence they use in other parts of the world in order to maintain this country as a secure base for money-laundering.