Russian mafia group liquidated in Spain, chieftains arrested

MADRID, June 14 (Itar-Tass) - Spain's Interior Minister Alfredo Peres on Friday summed up the interim results of an operation that had helped destroying a criminal group consisting of Russian nationals. The minister described the operation codenamed "Troika" as brilliant. He said that Spanish law enforcers had managed to gather sufficient evidence about the existence of a well-organized Russian mafia with strict hierarchy of subordination for the first time. The group's leaders were arrested.
The Spanish police detained twenty people, including 10 in the
southern parts of Malaga, four in the Mediterranean coast near the
Alicante port, four on Majorca and two in Madrid. Besides, policemen
searched the houses of the arrested mafia members and raided the offices of several firms, which they believe had been used for money laundering.
The Spanish prosecutor's office has called the group a "Tambov-
Malyshev gang". It said that its chieftains had legally resided in Spain from where they ran their criminal business, including arms trade, drug trafficking as well as the smuggling of cobalt and tobacco. They didn't stop at blackmailing, bribing officials and organizing contract murders. The gang committed most of its crimes in Russia and the territories of some European countries.
The criminals used Spain as a place to launder their criminal profits. The gang members owned luxurious mansions, luxury cars, yachts and other valuable things in Spain.
The police also blocked suspicious bank accounts. The total amount of money on those accounts is estimated at 12 million euros at least.
The Spanish media reports that the investigation into the group's
criminal activities began in 2006 with participation of the FBI, the
German and Swiss police and in cooperation with the Russian authorities.