- More than 35 tons of chopped tobacco seized in Valencia, worth 4.2 million euros, which could have been used to manufacture between 1.8 and 2.5 million packets

- Customs in France, Andorra and Spain carry out the first tripartite operation to combat illegal tobacco

- In the first half of 2012, the AEAT has seized 5.8 million packets, 27% more than in the same period of the previous year

In May and June, the Tax Agency has completed two important operations to combat tobacco smuggling. Operations 'Aguijón' and 'Aramis' demonstrate the essential nature of international control and coordination efforts to combat the illegal entry of tobacco into Spain, a phenomenon to which Spanish Customs has responded with a 27% increase in seizures so far this year.

As part of Operation Aguijón, Customs Surveillance agents have seized more than 35 tons of contraband chopped tobacco with an estimated value of more than 4.2 million euros. This volume of tobacco, the largest seized by Customs in recent years, could have been used to manufacture between 1.8 and 2.5 million packets of cigarettes. The illegal product had gradually arrived in Valencia during May and June in seven containers, all of them from the port of Shenzhen, in China.

According to the investigation carried out by the Customs Surveillance agents of the Tax Agency, this large quantity of cut tobacco was going to be introduced into our country for subsequent distribution to other European states, where it could have been used as rolling or pipe tobacco, or even as raw material for the manufacture of cigarettes. The smugglers' modus operandi consisted of bringing cut tobacco into the national territory hidden in containers whose legal load was registered as multiple articles that are usually available for sale in multi-price stores. Among these items were pallets with marble tiles inside which the tobacco was hidden. Investigations are still ongoing and further arrests are not ruled out.

International cooperation

In parallel, between 21 May and 4 June, the French, Andorran and Spanish customs authorities have carried out a large-scale coordinated operation aimed at combating tobacco trafficking from Andorra. The so-called 'Operation Aramis' is the first tripartite international Franco-Spanish-Andorran action to combat tobacco smuggling.

During the first phase, the operation focused on exchanging information on criminal organisations specialising in tobacco and cigarette trafficking. Subsequently, officials from the Regional Customs Directorates of Perpignan and Toulouse, on behalf of France; Catalonia, on the Spanish side, and Andorran Customs, agreed to launch joint patrols, while controls were intensified at the border crossings between Andorra and France and Spain. During the course of Operation Aramis, almost 3.3 million cigarettes and 400 cigars were seized in customs facilities and other controls resulting from coordination between countries.
Aramis has enabled the participating Customs administrations to demonstrate their capacity for mobilisation when establishing joint control mechanisms and coordinated actions to combat large-scale, structured illicit tobacco trafficking.

Status of the fight against illegal tobacco

These actions are part of the Tax Agency's annual control plan, in which the fight against tobacco smuggling is one of the priorities. As a result of this determined action to combat illegal trafficking, by 30 June the Agency had already seized 5.8 million packets of cigarettes, 27.8% more than in the same period last year.

The current situation of tobacco smuggling in Spain has changed radically in the last two years. Until 2010, more than 80% of the seizures made by Customs corresponded to counterfeit cigarettes from Asia destined for other EU countries, with the consumption of smuggled tobacco in Spain being residual.

The context is different now. The number of seizures is higher than the average of previous years, but with a percentage of counterfeit products of less than 20% and a large proportion of contraband tobacco destined for the national market. In addition to popular cigarette brands, seizures of so-called cheap whites and rolling tobacco also occur, as in the case of the Valencia macro-operation.

The Tax Agency has promoted a global strategy to combat this illicit traffic, a strategy based on an increase in controls at points of arrival and retail distribution, as well as on investigations as a Customs Surveillance judicial police into smuggling organizations, the toughening of the crime of smuggling since 2011 and the increase in the exchange of information and cooperation with other customs offices.