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An organisation engaged in the clandestine manufacture of packets of tobacco of recognised brands has been disbanded

Joint operation of the Tax Agency, National Police and Civil Guard

  • Seven people have been arrested as alleged perpetrators of smuggling, industrial property and public treasury crimes
  • In the Malaga town of Sedella they had facilities that were used to manufacture cigarettes, while in the Cordoba municipality of Aguilar de la Frontera they had an industrial warehouse where they stored the product.
  • A total of 54,500 packets of cigarettes from a well-known brand were found inside a van, while a high-powered frequency-jamming device was found in one of its 'pilot cars', which showed the use of sophisticated technical means to hinder the police investigation.

January 20, 2020 .- The Tax Agency, the National Police and the Civil Guard, in a joint operation, have dismantled a criminal group specialized in the clandestine manufacture of cigarettes and their subsequent distribution throughout Spain and other countries of the European Union. Seven people from Ukraine, Latvia and Russia have been arrested on suspicion of smuggling, industrial property and treasury crimes.

The investigations began in March 2019, when the National Police received information alerting them to the arrival in Spain of a Russian national who was planning to work in a clandestine tobacco factory in the province of Malaga. Following this information, the National Police and the Tax Agency's Customs Surveillance Department began a joint investigation aimed at following the movements of this person through the different towns where he travelled, where he made contact with other people of the same nationality. In addition, high security measures were adopted to hinder any possible police surveillance that could be carried out on them.

The information obtained in this process, and that provided after monitoring another individual of Russian nationality who arrived in Spain in October, led the investigation to focus on the province of Malaga, with Civil Guard agents now joining the scene and locating a house located in a difficult-to-access area of the Axarquía mountain range belonging to the Malaga municipality of Sedella.

They used rental vehicles to hinder a possible police investigation

Surveillance of this property enabled six individuals to be detected entering and leaving both the house and the adjacent warehouse, as well as others accessing the property in cars and vans. These vehicles were sometimes rented to make possible police investigations into them more difficult. By following these people, a second industrial warehouse was located in the town of Aguilar de la Frontera, in the province of Córdoba.

Once the illegal activity was confirmed, a coordinated operation by the three agencies was planned to proceed with the arrest of the members of the criminal group. The officers detected the entry of two vehicles and a van into the Sedella estate, where they remained for an hour. After leaving the premises, they were followed and intercepted by investigators who discovered that they were transporting a total of 54,500 packets of tobacco from a well-known brand.

Following this discovery, two further inspections were carried out at the aforementioned industrial warehouses, as well as a search and seizure of a home. All this led to the arrest of the seven people who made up the group. In addition to the seized brand, evidence was found during the search of the home that they also had material to make cigarettes of a second brand, also well-known.

A high-powered frequency-blocking device was found in one of the vehicles that served as the van's 'pilot car', which once again demonstrated the use of sophisticated technical means to hinder the police investigation.

Soundproofing systems to avoid being discovered

The warehouse in the municipality of Aguilar de la Frontera was intended for storage and samples of cardboard of the same brand of tobacco seized from the van were found there. The warehouse in the municipality of Sedella was intended for the factory and inside it was found sufficient material for the entire process of manufacturing cigarettes from bulk cuts. In addition, soundproofing systems were installed to prevent the noise of machines, extractors and power generators from being detected outside.

The investigation has determined that the final product was distributed in vans mainly in Andalusia. Some vehicles were only intended for transporting the warehouse used as a factory to the one that served as a warehouse.

As a result of the police operation, three Ukrainians, three Latvians and one Russian were arrested, and six of them were sent to prison.

Filming (to download the video, enter the following web address):

https://we.tl/t-wJ2kXcQRWQ