Joint operation by the Tax Agency and the National Police

• 15 tons of loose tobacco and 180,000 packs of counterfeit cigarettes, intended for distribution on the national market, have been seized.

• The operation resulted in the arrest of 13 people who are charged with crimes of smuggling, crimes against industrial property and belonging to a criminal organization

November 20, 2025. Customs Surveillance officials from the Tax Agency and National Police officers have dismantled two clandestine tobacco factories in the provinces of Toledo and Valencia, seizing 15 tons of shredded tobacco in its various stages of production, nine tons of tobacco leaves and 180,000 packs of counterfeit cigarettes. There are 13 people detained who are charged with crimes of smuggling, against industrial property and belonging to a criminal organization.

The operation began last June, when information was received about the existence in Talavera de la Reina of a criminal organization led by an individual from this town dedicated to the smuggling of loose tobacco. Its function was to receive the raw tobacco leaf and, once chopped and flavored, distribute it to different clandestine factories dedicated to the production of cigarettes.

Based on this information, the investigators began their inquiries to identify the recipient of the merchandise and the location of the warehouse where the factory was in its early stages. Once the individual was identified and the warehouse located in the area known as Paraje Arambeles (Talavera de la Reina), where the main person in charge of the organization frequently went accompanied by several people, a continuous surveillance device was established to detect the entry of any vehicle that was suspected of carrying or removing merchandise and, thus, be able to install a tracking device to locate the clandestine cigarette factory.

Already in November, the arrival at the warehouse of a suspicious rental van was detected, which left in a short space of time preceded by the main suspect, carrying out counter-surveillance work.

Following the relevant investigations, it was learned that the aforementioned van traveled to a warehouse in the El Bosquet ravine in the town of Mogente (Valencia), which, due to its characteristics and the movements detected in its surroundings, could be the place where the clandestine factory in the cigarette production phase was located.

Immediately, the investigators decided to proceed with the searches of both ships. Following this, the exploitation phase of the investigation was carried out, which culminated in the dismantling of two clandestine industrial warehouses dedicated to the production of tobacco cigarette packs.

Two separate buildings to differentiate the different phases of production

The searches revealed that, on the one hand, the primary phase of chopping and flavoring the tobacco leaf was carried out in the warehouse located in Talavera de la Reina, and, on the other hand, the production of tobacco cigarettes, the making of packs and packaging for subsequent distribution to the national market, as well as to other countries of the European Union, was carried out in the warehouse in Mogente.

Inside the warehouses under inspection, almost 15 tons of shredded tobacco in its various stages of production, intended for the manufacture of cigarettes, were seized. In addition, numerous pallets containing cardboard boxes from a tobacco brand were found, as well as more than 180,000 packs of cigarettes of various brands ready for distribution.

Similarly, several tons of precursor material (filters, polypropylene coils, rolls of cigarette paper…) were located, as well as the machinery necessary to develop both the tobacco chopping and drying phase, as well as the cigarette assembly and the production of the packs.

The operation resulted in the arrest of 13 people, five of them in Talavera de la Reina and eight in the town of Mogente (Valencia), of whom three are of Colombian nationality, six of Belarusian nationality, one of Polish nationality, one of Moroccan nationality and two of Spanish nationality, who are charged with crimes of smuggling, against industrial property and belonging to a criminal organization.

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