A joint operation by the Tax Agency and the Guardia Civil

• In the operation, called 'Orejona-Flúor', seven people have been arrested, a total of 170 cylinders, 20,600 euros in cash, a large amount of documentation and computer equipment for storing information have been seized.
• The organization imported the cylinders from China and Türkiye and introduced them into Spain from Portugal.
• The now dismantled organization is accused of belonging to a criminal organization, Crime against the Environment and Natural Resources, Fraud against the Public Treasury and Smuggling.

November 3, 2022.- Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency and the Civil Guard, in a joint operation called 'Orejona-Flúor', have dismantled an international criminal organization based in Seville that was dedicated to the illicit trade between Portugal and Spain of cylinders of fluorinated greenhouse gases from China and Turkey.

The investigation, which began in June, led to the discovery that several members of the organisation were regularly travelling to Portugal in order to introduce illegal fluorinated gas cylinders into Spain throughout the European Union, after importing them from countries such as China and Turkey.

These goods are considered prohibited items for the purposes of anti-smuggling regulations. Likewise, and in parallel, the organization also clandestinely introduced legally traded cylinders, not subject to the tax in Portugal that is levied on them in Spain, thus committing fraud against the Spanish Treasury.

For distribution, the organisation used a building located in Portugal where it stored a large quantity of cylinders that it subsequently introduced into Spain in the trunks of cars and vans to a whole network of shops, workshops and air conditioning establishments, or even directly for sale to workers related to the activity of assembling air conditioning units.

Entries and records

The operation took place on September 22, when four simultaneous house searches were carried out in the Pino Montano neighborhood of Seville and in the Hytasa industrial estate. In parallel, inspections are being carried out at ten premises distributed between automotive workshops, air conditioning companies and hardware stores, located in the provinces of Seville, Cadiz, Cordoba and Huelva. These premises were the recipients of illegal bottles of refrigerant gases.

Given the international nature of the operation, inspections were carried out, with the collaboration of the Portuguese authorities and Europol, in a warehouse located in Portugal that was closely linked to the scheme to introduce cylinders into Portuguese territory and then transport them clandestinely to Spain for distribution.

As a result of the investigations and the operation, seven people were arrested, a large number of fluorinated gas cylinders were seized for non-compliance with the relevant regulations and 170 cylinders were seized as contraband because they were considered prohibited goods or because their legal origin could not be proven. In addition, 20,610 euros in cash, eight mobile phones, four storage devices and various documents related to the investigation were seized.

Under the direction of the judge of Court No. 16 of Seville, officials from the Customs Surveillance Operational Unit of Seville and agents of the Civil Guard from the Pacprona-Ucoma group participated in the searches and inspections carried out, with the support of agents from the Usesic and the Canine Group of the Civil Guard of Seville, as well as Europol operatives and agents from the Portuguese GNR. Investigations are still ongoing.