Two men from Sussex were today being held by Spanish police following an undercover operation to smash an international drug smuggling ring.

Officers from the National Police and the paramilitary Guardia Civil carried out a series of raids in the Costa del Sol and in the Canary Islands seizing almost four tonnes of cannabis destined for Britain.

Paul Balentine, 33, from Brighton, and Jamie Harman, 21, from Shoreham, were arrested near Malaga after two tonnes of hashish was found in a warehouse on an industrial estate.

Police believe the pair were part of a ring bringing the drug across the Straits of Gibraltar from Morocco by the ton before smuggling it into Britain.

The police operation began more than a year ago when undercover officers began monitoring the movements of the head of the ring, a Spaniard with a history of drug trafficking.

Police believe he was responsible for buying large quantities of cannabis in Morocco and moving it across to Spain where it was stored before being sold on to other gangs in several parts of Europe.

As a cover, a ghost transport company was set up to carry fruit and vegetables across Europe.

A refrigerated lorry was purchased, a driver employed and warehouses hired.

One branch of the operation was set up in Tenerife where the hashish was sold wholesale to local dealers.

On the Costa del Sol, officers arrested the alleged head of the ring along with Balentine and Harman and six others from Norway and Denmark.

A further tonne of hashish was seized in Tenerife and 700 kilos from a house near Malaga.

Officers were continuing to question members of the gang today.