A combined operation of the Tax Agency and the Guardia Civil

• Twelve searches have been carried out in the provinces of Barcelona, Tarragona and Granada, with a total of eight people arrested.

• More than 2,100,000 packs of tobacco valued at more than 8.8 million euros, along with cash, cryptocurrencies, six vehicles, luxury watches, documents, and various cryptocurrency wallets have been seized.

• One of the detainees was injured by a firearm after attacking a Civil Guard officer with a machete.

July 4, 2025.- The Tax Agency's Customs Surveillance Service and the Civil Guard, in a joint operation, have dismantled a criminal organization capable of clandestinely importing and extracting containers from the port of Barcelona. The criminal organization used a structure that included various port officials who were responsible for both the clandestine removal of containers and providing security for the operation in order to evade the intervention of law enforcement (dockers, transporters, a Customs Surveillance officer, etc.).

On May 14, the Civil Guard Fiscal Unit at the Port of Barcelona intercepted a supposedly empty container, which had already been smuggled from the Port Nou terminal at the Port of Barcelona, loaded with contraband tobacco, and arrested the driver of the truck transporting it.

Following this, an exhaustive search of containers was conducted, uncovering three more containers inside the terminal, supposedly empty, which were loaded with contraband tobacco. A total of four containers were seized, which were supposedly "empty" and had been transported by the ship "Sidra Halima" from Türkiye. More than 2,100,000 packs of blond tobacco were found inside, with a total estimated value of more than 8.8 million euros.

Operational phase

As a result of the investigation and ordered by the Court of Instruction number 14 of Barcelona, the operation was exploited with 12 searches carried out in the provinces of Barcelona (10), Tarragona (1) and Granada (1), as well as two tax inspections in a logistics company in Barcelona.

Eight people have been arrested for alleged crimes of tobacco smuggling, money laundering, and belonging to a criminal organization. Among them is an official of the Customs Surveillance Service (SVA) of the AEAT (Spanish Agency of Public Works) in Catalonia, arrested by the SVA itself as part of joint actions with the Civil Guard. He is accused of allegedly committing the crimes of bribery and disclosure of secrets due to his status as a public official.

In addition to the initially seized packs, more than 2,100,000 packs of tobacco valued at over €8.8 million, along with cash, cryptocurrencies, six vehicles, luxury watches, documents, and various cryptocurrency wallets have been seized.

During one of the raids in the town of Sant Pere de Ribes (Barcelona), one of the detainees, armed with a 38 cm machete. in length, attacked the Civil Guard agents belonging to the Rapid Action Group (GAR), trying to prevent them from entering his home.

Faced with imminent danger to their lives, the responding force fired a shot at the armed arm of the resident of the house, who was taken to Bellvitge Hospital by the medical services on site and released hours later.

The investigation, which was initiated by the EDOA of the Judicial Police Unit of the Civil Guard of Barcelona in conjunction with the Customs Surveillance of the AEAT of Barcelona, was joined by the Central Special Investigations Unit of Customs Surveillance after investigators discovered the alleged involvement of the Customs Surveillance officer in the scheme.