UK Police smashed a group smuggling hashish to Britain from Spain, hidden inside air conditioning equipment. Five British nationals arrested.

Police have smashed a group which smuggled hashish to Britain from Spain hidden inside air conditioning equipment, arresting five British nationals, Spain's interior ministry said Wednesday.

The authorities also seized 300 kilos (660 pounds) of hashish from a warehouse at Balsicas in the eastern province of Murcia as part of the operation carried out by Spanish and British police, it said in a statement.

Among those arrested was a 42-year-old woman identified only by her initials J.L.W. who police believe was in charge of the logistics of the gang's drug shipments.

The arrests were carried out just as police suspected the group was about to make a new shipment of drugs to Britain.

Spain's proximity to North Africa, a key source of hashish, and its close ties with its former colonies in Latin America, a major cocaine producing region, have made it a major gateway into Europe for drug traffickers.