MADRID - Thirty-one people, including a former professional football player, have been arrested as authorities busted one of the biggest drug trafficking and money laundering networks in Spain, officials said Monday.

In a special operation launched across the country, Spain’s Civil Guard officials also seized more than half a tonne of cocaine, more than two million euros in cash, several high-end vehicles, as well as machines to count money and numerous documents.

The footballer, Jose Luiz Perez Caminero, who played for first division clubs Atletico de Madrid and Real Valladolid, was arrested last week in Valladolid, sources involved in the operation told EFE Monday

According to the officials, the network had branched in a number of cities in Spain. It has also members in Mexico and Colombia, from where they were shipping the drug to the country.

Among the people implicated in the case are also lawyers and banking professionals, according to the sources.

The group, according to the Civil Guard, was highly specialised and had set up security measures involving their travel and appointments to deliver drugs and cash that complicated the investigation.

–EFE