• Various searches have been carried out, seizing nearly one and a half tons of cut tobacco and 1.5 kg of marijuana buds.

• The complexity of the investigation has led to the participation of a large number of Civil Guard units together with units from the Customs Surveillance Service.

• At the same time, an indoor marijuana plantation was located and dismantled.

August 12, 2025.- Agents from the Tax Agency's Customs Surveillance Service, in collaboration with the Civil Guard, have dismantled a criminal organization dedicated to smuggling counterfeit tobacco and drug trafficking based in the Seville town of Écija, with distribution capacity throughout the country.

From that initial moment, and within the framework of the collaboration between the Civil Guard and the Tax Agency, a joint investigation team was created between both forces, with the investigation being carried out by the Fiscal and Border Analysis and Investigation Unit (UDAIFF) of the Seville Command.

The first phase of Operation CONARTE ASTIGI involved the seizure by the Customs Surveillance Service in the province of Ciudad Real of a batch of cut tobacco originating in Seville.

Following this initial intervention, surveillance was established on the organization's main suspects, all of whom were based in the province of Seville. Investigators were able to confirm the high level of activity of this organization, which continuously distributed large quantities of tobacco.

As a result of these investigations, the second phase of the operation was carried out, with searches of various properties linked to the organization's activities in several Spanish provinces.

As a result of these searches, 1,400 kilograms of tobacco and 8,600 euros were seized in one of these properties. In another raid carried out in the province of Ciudad Real, officers seized 1.5 kilograms of marijuana buds prepared for sale, 3,500 euros in cash, a handgun, several large knives, jammers, as well as various doses of cocaine and MDMA.

At the same time, officers located and dismantled an indoor marijuana plantation, seizing more than 200 marijuana plants in various stages of growth.

The complexity of the investigation, due to its broad organizational distribution, has entailed the involvement and participation of various Fiscal Detachments of the Civil Guard, such as those in Córdoba, Ciudad Real, Cádiz, Seville, Segovia, Noia, Llanes, Toledo, Castellón, Jaén, and Cádiz, in addition to the support of Territorial Units of the Judicial Police, USECIC Seville, and with the joint participation of Operational Units of Customs Surveillance in Córdoba, Ciudad Real, and Seville.

The investigation concluded with the arrest of four people and the investigation of nine others. All of them were charged with alleged smuggling offenses, drug trafficking offenses against public health, electricity fraud, and membership in a criminal organization. They were handed over, along with the case file, to the competent judicial authority.