Spain is one of the main entry points for cocaine into Europe from Latin America.

An operation led by the European Union’s law enforcement agency Europol led to the arrests of 20 people, half of whom were remanded in custody, a police statement said.

The majority of the arrests were in Spain.

Two were held in Belgium and one in France, the statement added.

Some of those arrested were linked “to a faction of the Hell’s Angels gang in Belgium” and were primarily involved “in controlling and recovering drug shipments”, the statement said.

The gang allegedly smuggled cocaine hidden in containers arriving at Valencia port.

They accessed drugs using so-called “Spidermen” who climbed stacks of containers and recovered the cocaine using bolt cutters or radial arm saws.