Dismantled a network that sold smuggled tobacco on the Internet and distributed it nationwide through parcel delivery companies


Dismantled a network that sold smuggled tobacco on the Internet and distributed it nationwide through parcel delivery companies

They used different parcel delivery agencies in Seville, Cádiz, Huelva, Málaga and Granada to send packets of tobacco bites up to a maximum of 20 kilograms

They manipulated the tobacco leaf without any sanitary control and to avoid being discovered by the strong smell they stored the sting in scented garbage bags or spread coffee beans in the boxes

In total 27 people have been arrested, nine records have been made in the towns of Seville, Écija, Carmona and Estepa and more than 10 tons of tobacco sting ready to be distributed have been apprehended

Civil Guard agents in a joint operation with the National Police have broken up a network that sold smuggled tobacco through the Internet through parcel delivery companies. They used different parcel delivery agencies in Seville, Cádiz, Huelva, Málaga and Granada to send packets of tobacco bites up to a maximum of 20 kilograms. They manipulated the tobacco leaf without any sanitary control in industrial warehouses or country houses and to avoid being discovered by the strong smell they stored the sting in scented garbage bags or scattered coffee beans in the boxes. In total 27 people have been arrested, nine searches have been made in the towns of Seville, Écija, Carmona and Estepa and more than 10 tons of tobacco sting ready to be distributed has been apprehended.

The operation began at the end of the summer of 2018, in a coordinated investigation between the Civil Guard and the National Police, given the indications of the existence of a criminal network based in the province of Seville. This network was made up of several criminal groups and reportedly engaged in the smuggling of significant amounts of tobacco, in its bite mode, throughout the national territory. With the first inquiries, the agents discovered that, for their distribution, they made parcel deliveries at home through well-known courier companies in the sector that previously offered through Internet advertisements.

Seville, Cádiz, Huelva, Malaga and Granada

Advanced investigation, the agents seized about 500 kilograms of tobacco bites, this cargo was found in a van used by the organization just at the time they were ready to deliver them on the messaging distribution platform. Shortly after the researchers made several interventions of about 1,300 kilograms in another well-known national parcel delivery company. With all this information it was confirmed that the organizations investigated worked with a variety of parcel delivery agencies, and that they not only sent tobacco from the province of Seville, but also traveled to platforms of these multinational companies in nearby provinces such as Cádiz, Huelva , Malaga and Granada.

Cash and cash on delivery

Before marketing the group chopped the tobacco leaf without any sanitary hygienic control, the work was done in locations such as industrial buildings, country houses or other buildings easily accessible to rodents and insects. This sting was subsequently packaged in vacuum bags of approximately one kilo of weight and introduced in boxes of different sizes, up to a maximum of 20 kilograms. To avoid the smell of tobacco, they used to wrap them later in scented garbage bags, or smelly substances such as coffee beans were scattered in the boxes. To make the payment, they used the cash on delivery method, charging the deliveries normally delivered in cash, through nominative stubs or in bank accounts of foremen. In addition, they used to use van-type vehicles from rental companies for transportation.
Throughout the investigation, the agents were able to identify the front men they used to simulate false commercial activities in their relationship with the different courier agencies, using commercial companies on their behalf or other fictitious companies. The personnel who worked in the mincing, packing and packaging of tobacco were also identified, as well as the locations where the tobacco transformation was stored and carried out, and the places where the package was subsequently packaged and prepared for final shipment.

27 detainees and nine records

After ten months of investigation, two police operations were completed that culminated the investigation with 27 arrests and nine searches in the towns of Seville, Écija, Carmona and Estepa. In addition, more than 10 tons of tobacco bites have been seized – prepared to be distributed throughout the national territory – as well as 3 vehicles used for transportation, more than 14,000 euros in cash, 5 chopper machines for the transformation of the sheet tobacco, in addition to various physical documentation, various computer equipment, label printers for shipments, scales, vacuum packaging machines and a large amount of material to send the fraudulent tobacco bite through the different package companies.

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