• More than a ton of chopped tobacco was seized, as well as 200 kilos of leaf and machinery for chopping, packaging and weighing

• The seized product has a value of 182,000 euros

February 5, 2024.- Customs Surveillance Officials of the Tax Agency in Córdoba and agents of the National Police of Écija have dismantled, in their fight against the trafficking of illegal substances, a clandestine center of contraband tobacco in the vicinity of the town of Fuentes de Andalucía (Seville). In the operation, carried out in the early hours of January 4, two people of Spanish nationality were arrested for an alleged crime of tobacco smuggling.

Following the investigations carried out by Customs Surveillance officials and agents of the National Police, it was learned of vehicles entering and leaving late at night in a warehouse in an industrial estate on the outskirts of Fuentes de Andalucía, which were suspected of being involved in some type of illegal activity.

Once one of these vehicles was located in the vicinity of Écija, it was followed up, identifying one of the occupants as an individual who had information about his previous dedication to tobacco smuggling, thus establishing the corresponding surveillance and control device.

After monitoring the suspicious van in the early hours of January 4, and when it was going to enter a warehouse in the 'El Colmenar' industrial estate in Fuentes de Andalucía, the intervention was carried out by the officials involved. .

Merchandise ready for shipping to all of Spain

After carrying out the inspection of the warehouse, 1,047 kilos of cut tobacco, 200 kilos of tobacco leaf for cutting, a grinder with two motors, a scale and a vacuum packaging machine, as well as packaging material, were located. A large amount of the seized merchandise was already in small boxes of various weights, packaged and sealed for shipment through courier companies throughout the national territory.

In the intervention, two individuals from the same family and neighbors of Écija were arrested. In addition to the seized merchandise, inside the ship there were a large number of empty boxes, which makes investigators think that the illicit activity had been carried out in that place for some time. The seized merchandise, which lacked the relevant health controls and permits, has an approximate value of 182,000 euros.

The detainees have been brought to justice and new arrests are not ruled out as investigations continue.