A criminal organization dedicated to the introduction of cocaine financed by tobacco smuggling has been dismantled

Joint operation by the Tax Agency and the National Police

• As part of the operation, ten individuals from the network, which was based in the provinces of Seville and Cadiz, were arrested.
• 500 kilos of cocaine destined for Santiponce (Seville) and more than 800 kilos of contraband tobacco, as well as several vehicles, cash and other items have been seized after carrying out a total of twelve searches in the organization's homes and warehouses.

April 25, 2022 .- The Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency, in a joint operation with the National Police, has dismantled a criminal organization based in the provinces of Seville and Cádiz that was allegedly dedicated to the introduction and subsequent distribution of large quantities of cocaine that it acquired with the profits obtained from tobacco smuggling.

The operation, led by the head of the Investigating Court number 4 of Seville with the support of the Public Prosecutor's Office, has resulted in the arrest of ten people from this network and the seizure of half a ton of cocaine, more than 800 kilos of contraband chopped tobacco, several vehicles, cash and other items after carrying out a dozen searches in warehouses and homes that the organization had spread across eight towns in the provinces of Cádiz and Seville.

The operation began at the beginning of this year, when investigators learned of the existence of a criminal organization that intended to introduce a large quantity of cocaine into the province of Seville, using containers from South America.

Cocaine in a load of wooden pallets

As a result of the various investigative efforts and after a thorough analysis of the customs documentation, the arrival at the port of Algeciras of two containers with contents declared as 'wooden pallets' was detected. Originating in Asunción (Paraguay), the merchandise was to be imported by a company based in the province of Seville, related to the organization that was already being investigated. The container route, which began in Paraguay, continued through Argentina and Morocco, until reaching Spain.

At the beginning of March, the containers arrived at the port of Algeciras, where they were unloaded and their contents inspected. Inside one of the containers, behind two wooden pallets, a kind of chest was detected containing a total of 500 rectangular packages of cocaine, weighing approximately one kilo each.

Container tracking

Following their discovery, officials from the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency in Seville and agents from the National Police proceeded to monitor and deliver the containers under surveillance.

Days later, the container carrying the drugs, following orders from the smuggling organisation, was taken to a warehouse located in the town of Santiponce (Seville). As a result of the special surveillance operation, four individuals were arrested: One of them was inside the warehouse, another was carrying out counter-surveillance tasks in the surrounding area, also the tenant of the warehouse and, finally, the manager of the importing company.

Six raids and searches were then carried out in different homes and warehouses in the towns of Santiponce, Camas, Valencina de la Concepción and Seville capital, seizing 808 kilos of chopped tobacco in one of them and thereby uncovering the involvement of two new companies in tobacco smuggling.

Subsequently, the shipment, already in progress, of 28.5 more kilos of cut tobacco was seized in the name of the two companies involved, bringing the total amount of cut tobacco seized to 836.5 kilos.

This revealed the use of tobacco smuggling to obtain the necessary financing to cover the costs of purchasing and introducing the drug.

New searches and arrests

In a later phase, this April, another six searches were carried out in different homes and warehouses located in the Seville towns of Gines, Mairena del Aljarafe, Camas and Palomares del Río, as well as in Algeciras (Cádiz).

Six other people were also arrested in connection with previous drug trafficking and tobacco smuggling operations. Electronic devices, three vehicles, a motorcycle, a frequency detector, numerous documents and 29,000 euros in cash were seized.