Major clampdown on tobacco smuggling

(Gibraltar Chronicle) In a major clampdown on large-scale tobacco smuggling, Guardia Civil officers this week raided numerous houses in La Linea and San Roque and arrested at least five persons. An unknown quantity of cigarettes was seized, with one report suggesting that some 50 boxes – each with 50 cartons – had been impounded. This is the toughest step yet in a long-running campaign targeting cigarette smuggling from Gibraltar into Spain. However few additional details were released because the operation was ongoing and further arrests had not been ruled out. Searches had also been carried out in Cordoba.>The Guardia Civil was said to be targeting buyers who come to this area to buy large quantities of contraband cigarettes for sale in other parts of Spain. Law enforcement officials on both sides of the border say smuggling activity has increased significantly because of the impact of the global economic crisis.

With unemployment rising consistently, many people are turning to the black market in order to survive. The latest unemployment figures released in Spain show that there are now nearly 37,000 people registered as unemployed in the Campo de Gibraltar.