LONDON, March 15 (UPI) -- Organized crime sweeps across Europe have yielded arrests of dozens of people accused of drug and arms trafficking, money laundering and extortion, police say.

At least 24 alleged members of Russian and Georgian crime gangs were arrested in Spain and another 45 in Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. They face charges of conspiracy to murder, The Times of London reported Monday.

Spanish anti-corruption authorities who led the crackdown alleged the gangs maintained criminal contacts in Colombia, and their crime web spread to Britain, Sweden, Turkey, Ireland and Belgium. They also allege those arrested in Spain were "foot soldiers," the newspaper said.

"We are not going to find great mansions nor enormous quantities of money, as in other operations, because this is an organization which operated at a more basic level, but they did it in various European countries," said a Spanish police source.

Phone taps show the suspects have a connection to Zakhar Kalashov, suspected Russian crime boss on trial in Spain for money laundering, arms and drugs smuggling and kidnapping, a police spokesman said.

Kalashov was arrested in 2005 by Spanish police in the United Arab Emirates and had been held in a maximum security jail before being released on bail this month, pending the verdict.

After the Soviet Union fell, Russian organized crime allegedly exploited lax Spanish property laws and limited police resources to launder millions in property deals through sham firms, The Times said.