- EDITIONS: Spanish News Today Murcia Today Alicante Today
Date Published: 27/04/2021
ARCHIVED - Six arrested and more than 49,000 packets of tobacco seized in Campo de Gibraltar, Cadiz
The Campo de Gibraltar area in Cádiz (Andalusia) has a long history of tobacco smuggling as many living in an area which has one of the highest unemployment rates in Spain, see it as a relatively easy way to earn some cash.
Guardia Civil officers have seized contraband tobacco worth more than 180,000 euros and arrested six members of the public in two separate actions in the Campo de Gibraltar area (Cádiz) over the last few days, the police force has reported.
The first of the two occurred in the early hours on Friday (23 April) when officers carrying out routine checks in La Línea de la Concepción spotted a vehicle acting suspiciously. A patrol followed the car to a residential area in Los Barrios, where it entered a private property. Upon entry, officers found four individuals unloading rubbish bags filled with 22,500 packets of contraband tobacco worth more than 92,000 euros. All four were arrested for alleged smuggling offences.
In a similar action in the early hours of Monday morning, officers from the Guardia Civil barracks in San Roque spotted a group unloading boxes from a boat and carrying them into a nearby property in the Puente Mayorga area. Although some of the group took flight when they saw the police coming, the officers arrested the owner of the property and one other individual after discovering 53 boxes containing more than 26,500 packets of tobacco worth more than 93,000 euros.
All six arrestees live in San Roque, and all are reported to have previous police records for similar offences.
Tobacco products are routinely brought into the province by boat, and although police patrols are out searching for boats 24/7, small craft frequently make it to the mainland, laden with tobacco. There are also large-scale operations transporting contraband tobacco via containers and lorries.
Image: Archive. Guardia Civíl
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