Spanish sting operation nets top echelon of eastern European mafia bosses

MADRID (AFP) - Spanish police have rounded up at least 22 top mafia bosses from countries of the former Soviet Union in a sting operation that has dealt an enormous blow to organized crime, said the Spanish interior ministry.

The sting, known as "Operation Wasp," was launched last week on the Spanish Mediterranean coast against the ever-growing presence of mafia groups, mostly from Georgia, specialized in money laundering.

Four hundred agents were deployed in 11 regions reaching from Catalonia to the Costa del Sol and Alicante, and were assisted by information from Interpol, Europol and the Belgian, French, Israeli, Russian and US police.