Tobacco smugglers stone police

GIBRALTAR (GibChronicle) Police were pelted with stones as they tried to arrest cigarette smugglers in the area of British Lines Road, near the East Gate, close to the border. Five of the smugglers jumped over the fence from Gibraltar into Spain and threw rocks and other items at officers from the Royal Gibraltar Police. "One of these stones actually hit an officer on his right forearm causing some bruising," a police spokesman said. "The officer attended hospital and after receiving some treatment was allowed to leave." The RGP officers had mounted a surveillance operation as part of an ongoing operation to clamp down on the illicit exportation of tobacco. One local man was arrested as part of the operation, which also led to 150 cartons of cigarettes and a car being seized. The man was interviewed and released on police bail.