During the operation, police arrested 30 suspects – among them Spaniards, Ukrainians, Germans and Moroccans – at several locations across the southern Andalusia region, a Guardia Civil statement said.

The marijuana, which came from plantations located across the region, was “packaged in cardboard boxes disguised as supplies and humanitarian aid destined for Ukraine,” it said.

They were then packed into vans registered in Ukraine that were “purportedly acting as a solidarity convoy so they could pass under the radar of police and border controls,” while visiting various European countries, it said.

Police were alerted to the scheme after identifying a group of Ukrainians on the Costa del Sol who were collecting large quantities of marijuana that were stored in a flat in Mijas, near Málaga.

During the raids, which targeted sites in Málaga province as well as in the southern cities of Granada, Córdoba and Seville, police seized nearly €800,000, six guns and 2,500 cannabis plants.

The suspects were charged with various offences, including drug trafficking, membership of a criminal organisation and the illegal possession of weapons.