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, against industrial property and against the Public Treasury
- 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 in which they stored the product.
- A total of 54,500 packs of tobacco from a well-known brand were found inside a van, while a high-power frequency inhibitor device was found in one of its 'pilot cars', which showed the use of sophisticated technical means. to hinder 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 as alleged perpetrators of smuggling crimes, against industrial property and against the Public Treasury.
The investigations began in March 2019, when the National Police received information that warned about the arrival in Spain of an individual of Russian nationality who had the objective of working in a clandestine tobacco factory in the province of Malaga. As a result of this information, the National Police and Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency began a joint investigation aimed at following the movements of this person through the different towns through which he moved, in which he made contacts with other people of the same nationality. . In addition, it adopted high security measures to make possible police surveillance that could be carried out on them difficult.
The information obtained in this process, and that provided after the monitoring of another individual of Russian nationality who arrived in Spain in the month of October, caused the investigation to focus on the province of Malaga, with agents from the Civil Guard 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 on this property made it possible to detect six individuals entering and leaving both the home and the adjacent warehouse, as well as others who accessed the property in cars and vans. These vehicles were, on some occasions, rented to make a possible police investigation of them 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 illicit activity was corroborated, a coordinated device by the three organizations was planned to proceed with the arrest of the members of the criminal group. The agents detected the entry of two vehicles and a van into the Sedella farm, where they remained for an hour. After leaving it, they were followed and intercepted by investigators who verified how they were transporting a total of 54,500 packs of tobacco from a well-known brand.
Following this discovery, two more inspections were carried out in the aforementioned industrial warehouses, as well as an entry and search of a home. All this allowed the arrest of the seven people who made up the group. In addition to the brand seized, in the search of the home evidence was found that they also had material to manufacture cigarettes of a second brand, also very well known.
A high-power frequency inhibitor device was found in one of the vehicles that acted as the van's 'pilot car', which showed, once again, 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 there were found samples of cardboard from the same brand of tobacco seized from the van. The warehouse in the municipality of Sedella was intended for the factory and inside it was found enough material for the entire process of manufacturing cigarettes from bulk cigarettes. In addition, soundproofing systems were observed that prevented the noise of the machines, extractors and current generators from being detected outside.
The investigation has established that the final product was distributed in vans mainly throughout Andalusia. Some vehicles were only intended to transport the ship used as a factory to the one used as a warehouse.
As a result of the police operation, three people of Ukrainian nationality, three others from Latvia and one from Russia have been arrested, six of them being imprisoned.
Filming (to download the video you must enter the following web address):