Spanish police say they have dismantled a drug distribution network run by a major South American cartel after seizing 1.8 tonnes of methamphetamine.

The Sinaloa cartel was using vehicles with false bottoms to send illegal drugs on to other European countries, Spain’s National Police said.

Officers, who had doubted the cartel was established in Spain, made five arrests after raiding six properties in the Valencia region.

Those detained included a Mexican national thought to be the group’s leader, as well as three Spanish people and one Romanian, police said.

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Methamphetamine, also known as crystal meth, is a “highly addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system”, according to the US government’s National Institute on Drug Abuse.

It “takes the form of a white, odourless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder” and “easily dissolves in water or alcohol”, the institute says.

The 1.8 tonne haul is the largest confiscation of methamphetamine ever made in Spain, police said.

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Officer Antonio Martínez said it signalled the “eradication of this group”.

“We in the National Police thought the Mexican cartels were not established in Spain,” he said.

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He added: “But it is true that due to the pressure they are under in other parts of Europe, above all against their laboratories, we are seeing how they are trying to start operations or set up illegal laboratories in Spain to produce drugs.”

The investigation continues and officers said there could be further arrests.

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