CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR (Agencies/Photo: Guardia Civil) Some of these 'athletes' will get in the history books. Or at least the histrionic books. Here are a couple of examples of the kind of thing the Guardia Civil has found when doing their job of catching tobacco smugglers, an activity, says the GC, that is on the up and up (no, that may not be the right expression, but you get the gist). One case involves a man who, on being approached by a GC unit on the beach in La Línea, began to exercise furiously; touching his toes seemed the most important thing in his life. He kept it up even after handing the GC his documents. A lot of sand was being flung about, they noticed. It turned out that with every touch of his toes, the gymnast was trying to cover a box of 500 smuggled packets of American Legend cigarrettes in the sand. The GC point out that the man was fit, as he was hardly out of breath when he was arrested. But there's more.>The Guardia Civil units on anti-smuggling duty agree that it must be desperation that makes some smugglers risk it all. The case above could mean see the man sentenced to prison, not to mention the cost of the confiscated tobacco, not an inconsiderable amount in pressured times.
But they have to laugh.
Last weekend a man was caught with no less than 80 cartons attached to his body with a number of belts (photo above). He was stopped on the way out of the customs shed when the agents on duty noticed he was walking with some difficulty. No wonder.
Every day, there are reports of thousands of cigarrettes and roll-up tobacco being caught in vehicles throughout the Campo de Gibraltar. In fact, we hardly bother writing about it any more, unless it's for an unusually large amount, or as in this case, shows a measure of ingenuity. Just the other day they caught a van travelling on the A-7 in San Roque carrying 1,024 packets of various brands.
We have also received several reports of drivers being stopped not only at the usual places, but also in unexpected spots on the way to or from the coast roads. Not entirely surprising, we venture.
Just for the record, the Guardia Civil in Algeciras reported that exactly 1,246,249 packets of cigarrettes were seized in 2010, a record. In October last year, the Cádiz command centre put into operation a campaign aimed at eradicating illegal tobacco, only a month later, they had grabbed 15,550 packets and arrested 106 people.
Of course, this is nothing compared to the amount of money involved in, nor the ingenuity of, drug smugglers. Watch this space...
But they have to laugh.
Last weekend a man was caught with no less than 80 cartons attached to his body with a number of belts (photo above). He was stopped on the way out of the customs shed when the agents on duty noticed he was walking with some difficulty. No wonder.
Every day, there are reports of thousands of cigarrettes and roll-up tobacco being caught in vehicles throughout the Campo de Gibraltar. In fact, we hardly bother writing about it any more, unless it's for an unusually large amount, or as in this case, shows a measure of ingenuity. Just the other day they caught a van travelling on the A-7 in San Roque carrying 1,024 packets of various brands.
We have also received several reports of drivers being stopped not only at the usual places, but also in unexpected spots on the way to or from the coast roads. Not entirely surprising, we venture.
Just for the record, the Guardia Civil in Algeciras reported that exactly 1,246,249 packets of cigarrettes were seized in 2010, a record. In October last year, the Cádiz command centre put into operation a campaign aimed at eradicating illegal tobacco, only a month later, they had grabbed 15,550 packets and arrested 106 people.
Of course, this is nothing compared to the amount of money involved in, nor the ingenuity of, drug smugglers. Watch this space...
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