Police in Spain have arrested 15 people in connection with an investigation into the alleged fixing of professional tennis matches.

Officials said another 68 people are being investigated in connection with the case.

28 professional tennis players are said to be among the 83 people involved.

According to Europol, an investigation was launched in 2017 after concerns were raised about 'irregular activities' in a number of tournaments.

Suspects are alleged to have bribed professional players to guarantee results, while 'using identities of thousands of citizens' to bet on the games.

Europol explained: "A criminal group of Armenian individuals used a professional tennis player, who acted as the link between the gang and the rest of the criminal group.

"Once they bribed the players, the Armenian network members attended the matches to ensure that the tennis players complied with what was previously agreed, and gave orders to other members of the group to go ahead with the bets placed at national and international level."

The investigation led to a special operation led by the Spanish Civil Guard and coordinated by the National High Court of Spain, with the support of Europol.

11 houses were searched in Spain as part of the operation.

€167,000 in cash was seized along with a shotgun, more than 50 electronic devices, credit cards and five luxury vehicles.

Dozens of bank accounts have also been frozen.