Tobacconists: 30% downturn in sales - Guardia Civil: sharp increase in tobacco smuggling from Gibraltar

LA LÍNEA/GIBRALTAR/CÁDIZ (Agencies) Two not entirely unconnected items: on the one hand, the federation of tobacconists in the province of Cádiz report a drop in sales of 30%, which, says its president, Aureliano Felipe Martínez, is a great deal higher in the Campo de Gibraltar. He says it has to do with cigarrette smuggling from Gibraltar. The Guardia Civil, on the other hand, reports that it has confiscated 280.000 packets so far this year in operations throughout the Campo but mainly in La Línea and the border. This is against the 240.000 for the whole of 2009. The GC also reports a sharp increase in matuteo, smuggling of cigarrettes by individuals (photo: EuropaSur), a practice that had seen a significant downturn over the last 10 to 15 years but has had a resurgence thanks to the crisis. The image shows a man putting single packs into his socks, where he hopes they will not be found. Meanwhile, the Spanish workers in Gibraltar organization, ASCTEG, complains of increased searches at the bordeer, saying that the solution to smuggling "does not reside in stopping workers at the border."