• The goods were distributed in a total of 48 boxes of 50 cartons.
• The arrest was made in the Guadarranque River, after a persecution of small inflatable smugglers

December 19, 2023.- Customs Surveillance Officials from the Tax Agency in Algeciras have seized 24,000 packs of tobacco in the Campo de Gibraltar area. The operation took place during the early hours of Tuesday to Wednesday, when officials sighted several small inflatable boats loading tobacco in the colony of Gibraltar.

The corresponding control device was immediately prepared with naval and land means, for which a deployment of land personnel was carried out throughout the bay of Algeciras waiting for the tobacco stash to materialize, at the same time as several Surveillance patrol boats. Customs came to demand the detected objectives with the intention of intercepting them.

While the pursuit of some of these inflatable boats was taking place at sea, others proceeded to unload the contraband goods on land, for which they went up the stretch of the Guadarranque River, movements that were controlled at all times by Customs Surveillance officials deployed by area.

A group of these Customs agents proceeded to intervene in the river itself, but were unable to make any arrests because the smugglers fled taking refuge in the rugged terrain and the prevailing darkness, although a total of 48 boxes of tobacco, which is equivalent to 24,000 packs of smuggled tobacco, valued at more than 100,000 euros.

Both the gender intervened and the actions carried out have been made available to the San Roque court on guard duty.

The investigation remains open, so it is not ruled out that an arrest may be made in the coming days.