The Civil Guard seizes 34,800 kilos of contraband tobacco bites


The Civil Guard seizes 34,800 kilos of contraband tobacco bites

To transport the tobacco, to the main warehouse to be able to process it, they used a truck with the same labeling as those used in the distribution of a well-known brand of beer.

The seven members of the criminal organization have been arrested and 5 searches have been made in different homes and industrial warehouses where they stored tobacco and machinery for its processing, as well as products to give it different aromas and flavors.

The Civil Guard within the MUTIG operation, has intervened 34,800 kilos of contraband tobacco, chopped and ready for distribution, and has arrested seven members of a criminal organization as alleged perpetrators of a smuggling crime. In addition, 4 of them are charged with a crime of belonging to a criminal organization. Likewise, 5 searches have been made in different homes and industrial warehouses where they stored tobacco and machinery for its processing, as well as products to give it different aromas and flavors.

The investigation began in January, when the Civil Guard learned of the seizure of more than 4,000 kg of smuggled tobacco. Investigators, suspecting that those responsible would try to recover the money, turned their attention to an industrial warehouse in Aznalcázar (Seville), where there had been a washing and greasing business for vehicles and in which unusual activity was observed people and vehicles despite lacking the area of ​​known legal activity.
Continuing with the investigations, the agents were able to verify the existence of a network that had a business-like structure, where each member had a specific role since logistics was assimilable to that of a large business and billing amounted to hundreds of thousands of euros. The tobacco was distributed in various industrial warehouses scattered throughout the province of Seville, thus guaranteeing supply in the event that one of those warehouses was detected by the police.
To transport the tobacco to the main warehouse, where the tobacco leaf was processed and had up to five industrial grinders operating at the same time, they used a truck labeled with the logo of a popular beer brand, to go unnoticed before the police presence
The warehouse-factory had 8 workers inside, in working hours of 8-10 hours from Monday to Friday, during which they dedicated themselves to chopping the tobacco leaf, flavoring it with products that gave it a flavor similar to that of the main brands. of tobacco consumed in Spain and its subsequent packaging in hermetic packages of one kilogram.
These packages were packed in boxes of courier companies and were subsequently carried daily in vans. During transport, they used great security measures, using up to two more vehicles as a shuttle in order to get ahead of the transport and warn of any type of police control.

50 shipments of 250 kilogram packages in a single day

The organization distributed tobacco throughout the Spanish geography in small orders of between 1 and 10 kilograms each, previously purchased by third parties, via telephone or internet. This allowed them to go unnoticed as referred by alleged boutique, hairdressing or food products companies, all of which were fictitious. However, Civil Guard officers have detected up to a total of 50 shipments of 250 kilogram packages in a single day.
During the operation phase of the operation, the Civil Guard has made 5 entries and records. One of them was carried out at the home of the principal investigated, where various documentation was found that implicates the rest of the investigated in the crimes. The remaining 4 searches have been carried out in 4 industrial warehouses located in different locations in Seville's Aljarafe, where agents have seized a total of 34,800 kgs of tobacco, 5 tobacco mincing machines, 3 forklifts, 20 liters of substance flavoring with which they gave flavor to the main tobacco brands, a truck labeled with the logos and signs of a well-known beer brand, a van that had been used for various transportations of tobacco already packaged, as well as various documentation and delivery notes that record the shipments made and the accounting of the organization.

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