Taxman plans action against cigarette smuggling - in Britain

Very expensive smugglers' boat, beached

BRITAIN / GIBRALTAR / SPAIN Yes, there is definitely a Spanish angle to all the hullabaloo raised by David Cameron when he spoke out loud recently about the damage to the UK's economy brought about by cigarette smuggling. Some of the headlines of the last couple of weeks: How cigarette smuggling fuels Africa's Islamist violence (Guardian); IRA's cigarette-smuggling millionaires: Former terrorists flooding the UK with potentially lethal fakes, cheating taxpayers of billions (MailOnline); Taxman's plan to curb tobacco smuggling in question after stinging report (Telegraph) Taxman’s plan to stop tobacco smuggling goes up in smoke (The Times) Third of cigarettes are illicit as smuggling is new ‘crime of choice’ (London Evening Standard). Not entirely dissimilar headlines have been around the Campo de Gibraltar area for years. More so with the unemployment crisis - permanent in La Línea and worse now. The fact is>>>

Biggest ever hash haul caught at port

(Photo: Guardia Civil)

ALGECIRAS The Guardia Civil detachment at the Port of Algeciras on Monday uncovered almost 33 tons of hash hidden inside a truck supposedly transporting fruit that was coming into Spain from Tangier. This is the largest haul ever taken on land and is almost double the total taken in the whole of last year. The illicit drug was hidden behind a screen behind two pallets of melons, which is what the lorry's manifest said it was transporting. On another matter (and in another article) importers of perishable goods, meeting at the Reina Cristina Hotel, are asking for less or lighter inspections at the Customs shed.

Another Spanish TV reports on smuggling from Gibraltar

'REPORT: Living on contraband'

SPAIN / GIBRALTAR Telecinco, the Spanish TV station, broadcast a report yesterday on La Línea's financial mess and tobaco smuggling across the Gibraltar frontier. This comes a week after another channel, Antena-3 emmitted a similar report on their Espejo Público (Public Mirror) programme, which called the situation a 'hot frontier'. A reporter from El programa de Ana Rosa ('Ana Rosa's Programme', presented by frequent-Sotogrande-visitor Ana Rosa Quintana) came to the area in February, doing a lot of vox pop reporting and eliciting responses mainly centred on the fact that the are no jobs in the area and tobacco smuggling is a way of subsisting for 'thousands of people', according to one interviewee - which has been made a great deal more difficult since the new 4-pack law came into effect at the beginning of the year.>>>

19 firearms seized from tobacco smugglers

21 people under arrest and 60,000 cigarette packs confiscated · La Línea connection

SEVILLA The Guardia Civil have arrested 12 people allegedly belonging to a tobacco smuggling gang in the first phase of Operation Pisonova carried out in the provinces of Sevilla and Cádiz, where the gang has been dismantled. More arrests are expected. Aside from the tobacco, the GC also confiscated ten vehicles, six real firearms and 13 simulated ones that could be made to fire real bullets, plus €166,000. The operation began several months ago, when the GC received a tip-off that there was a gang in the Aljarafe area of Sevilla possibly involved in criminal activity. Further investigation led to a well organized and structured with close connections to another gang based in La Línea and another in the centre of Sevilla, both used for distribution purposes. So far, nine properties, homes and storage units, have been searched in several areas of Sevilla, as well as La Línea. Other searches have been made at shops, presumably looking for contraband tobacco.

'Honour' among thieves and smugglers

Illustration only

LA LÍNEA The vehicles full of contraband tobacco and alcohol were parked in the darker streets of La Línea, but in plain daylight local residents could see  these three men braking to cars and vans to steal the contents. But thanks to citizen cooperation, R.F.S., 23, A.M.C.V., 23, AND J.A.P.G., 27, were arrested on Thursday. A press release from the Police says that it had no notification, no denuncias, on the subject but on investigating several neighbours' reports they realised that the vehicles in question belonged to people from outside the area who left their cars and vans near the frontier with Gibraltar, and came and went with small amounts of contraband. They wouldn't report break-ins because they were engaged in illicit activities. The three are now 'at the disposal of the courts.'

Gibraltar, the centre of large smuggling gang

Spanish Customs agents arrest 15 and searches properties in Cataluña and Andalucía

SEVILLA Fifteen arrests and eleven searches are the first results of a new operation against contraband, as well as confiscation of goods and cash worth ove €6,000,000. According to a press note released by Customs, the detainees are members of a gang that distributed contraband tobacco, smuggled from Gibraltar, Andorraa and the Canary Islands, throughout he country. The haul consisted of €43,000 in cash, 117 silver coins, one gold  ingot, three boats, 44 vehicles, current bank accounts and 55 properties. The present operation is derived from an earlier one, Operación Raya, in which 13 were arrested and 70,000 cigarette packs confiscated. The organization distributed their 'goods' by land and sea, using hired vehicles, courier services, trucks and containers.

New law proposes only 80 cigarettes to be allowed out of Gibraltar

Smuggling has a long history

At present, the total allowed per month is 200, if you live within 15k of the border - officially

SPAIN The area's tobacconists have been complaining for at least two years now, that their sales are down considerably, and not because people are buying less but because tobacco smuggling from Gibraltar has reached unprecedented proportions. Under new budget measures, Madrid is proposing to clamp down on this practice by slashing by over half the number of cigarettes allowed across the frontier. A new law that came into effect in June says thatSOON YOU WILL BE UNABLE

Over 22,000 guns seized in Algeciras port

One of the captured guns

Hidden among shipment of clothing from Turkey

ALGECIRAS (Agencies) The Customs Police and the Guardia Civil ended an operation last week in the Port of Algeciras by seizing 22,272 replica guns ready for transformation into firearms. The guns were uncovered together with 13,500 magazines hidden behind a wall of boxes of clothing in a container from Istambul, Turkey, with a final destination at Djibouti. The street value of the pistols and magazines was calculated to be over €2,000,000.

Guardia Civil intercepts 484,620 cigarettes at border so far this month

(Photo: espaciodigital.es)

524 people denounced for contraband and 96 vehicles impounded

LA LÍNEA (Agencies) Customs agent of the Guardia Civil Fiscal unit at the border with Gibraltar have intercepted a total of 24,231 packs at the their routine inspections at the frontier. That's so far this month, and we're only half way through. Aside from the cigarettes, a total of 96 vehicles were impounded and 524 people are charged with contraband offences. Much of the contraband was hidden in the false bottoms of vehicles crossing the frontier, or in hidden spots in the cars and vans, as well as strapped to pedestrians or carried in luggage by them. Add this to>>>

Over 70,000 cigarrette packs confiscated in June

Man arrested at frontier for attacking Guardia

LA LÍNEA (Press release) In a communiqué issued last week, the Guardia Civil announced that 70,306 packs of cigarrettes of numerous brands, were confiscated at the Customs point at the frontier with Gibraltar during the month of June. Other confiscations related to tobacco smuggling: 221 vehicles, 29 motorbikes and 37 bicycles; 526 reports for 'administrative infractions' were issued as well. The press release also states that there has been a considerable increase in tobacco smuggling cases over the last years, which has lead to an increase in personnel and controls at the post. In another incident earlier in the week a man was taken into custody when he attacked a Guardia at the Customs post after being asked repeatedly for the documents of the car he was driving and requested to get out of the vehicle. He was subdued after resisting arrest with violence.

Razor sharp security at border

(Photo: chronicle.gi)

GIBRALTAR (Gib Chronicle by Brian Reyes) The Gibraltar Government has taken physical and legislative steps to tighten security in the border area in the wake of last week’s violent clash between Customs officers and cigarette smugglers. The border had been neglected for many years, with just a flimsy fence riddled with holes to separate Gibraltar from Spain. At the eastern end of the runway, construction of the airport tunnel turned that area into an unlit wasteland across which smugglers could easily slip undetected. On the Spanish side access to the fence was easy and unhindered, just short stroll from the main road to La Atunara. For Customs officers, patrolling this zone was a difficult and challenging task. (Read the full story here)

Smuggling creates employment, says report

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR A recent article in El País reported that tobacco smuggling actually creates employment in Spain, especially in the Campo de Gibraltar and around the border with Andorra. Referring to the former, in a district suffering under almost 40% unemployment, it is commonplace to cross the border into Gibraltar for tobacco is one way of making ends meet, or to just put food on the table. A carton of tobacco on the Rock costs about €25; once in Spain it has gone up to €42 - a €17 profit. In fact, tobacco smuggling in the Campo area, says the article, is not looked upon as shameful 'employment', rather the opposite. And anyway, smuggling from Gibraltar into Spain is a tradition that goes back as far as the late 1700s, when Britain seized the Rock from Spain. For a number of years, as recently as the 1960s and 70s, it was a means of survival not dissimilar to the circumstances today.PLEASE BE AWARE THAT ITEMS SUCH AS THIS MAY BE SUBJECT TO SUBSCRIPTION IN THE FUTURE but you can make a donation NOW, too! Please click here for more information on how to help us continue. (This item has taken 54 minutes to produce.)>>>

Guardia Civil seizes over 80,000 cigarette packets since the beginning of September

(Photo: Guardia Civil)

LA LÍNEA (Agencies) The Guardia Civil post at the entrance to Spain from Gibraltar has seized 82,713 packets of cigarettes since WSeptember 1st. This is the result of searches made of vehicles and pedestrians coming from Gibraltar. Large quantities of packets missing the seals of intra-community legality have been found in the false bottoms or spaces in cars, vans and even motorbikes, hidden in the clothing or baggage of pedestrians. In total, 181 motorbikes have been confiscated, plus 161 cars and vans, while some 548 people have been charged with 520 cases of contraband.

Seized tobacco to be auctioned off

Stored by RGP

GIBRALTAR (GibChronicle) The Gibraltar Government plans to sell large quantities of cigarettes seized by local law enforcement agencies during anti-smuggling operations. At present those cigarettes are destroyed but the Government has published a proposed legislative amendment that will enable it to auction the confiscated goods. The auctions will only be open to persons who are in possession of a valid wholesale licence and the proceeds will be paid into the consolidated fund. The change comes against the background of a crackdown on tobacco smuggling, which has surged in recent months on the back of high unemployment in the Campo de Gibraltar. The Royal Gibraltar Police and HM Customs (Gibraltar) have both intensified their anti-smuggling efforts, as have law enforcement agencies in Spain. They are targeting the border area, housing estates and areas of town where people gather to buy and conceal cigarettes before heading across to Spain. The aim is to disrupt and deter those involved.>>>

Contraband tobacco doubles since 2010

LA LINEA (Agencies) The amount of tobacco seized at the frontier by the Guardia Civil has increased significantly so far this year. According to data supplied by the frontier post, some 262,104 packs of cigarrettes have been confiscated, largely at the border itself (203,533), from January to the end of April. This compares with the 116,958 taken in the same period last year, an increase of over 50%. The number of vehicles seized at the border has also increased, the vast majority of which contained smuggled tobacco: 569 vs 309. Guardia sources say that much i of the increase is owed to an equal increase in the number of controls being carried out, at the border and beyond, as does the force's strict application of the law that limits to 200 cigarettes per month per person that is allowed through. Traditional methods of smuggling have also changed.>

Driver tries to run over a Guardia Civil at Frontier

LA LINEA (Agencies) The Guardia Civil controlling the exit into Spain from Gibraltar last Monday, found 1,500 cigarette packs in a car that had sped away from the queue. The car had been stopped for a routine check of the vehicle but only feined at coming to a halt, then sped away, aiming straight at an agent standing in the way. The vehicle was chased by a GC patrol car that caught up with it just beyond the control point. The driver was arrested and both car and contraband were impounded.

Spaniards fined £50,000 for cigarette smuggling in Gibraltar

Smuggling from Gib to Spain

GIBRALTAR (Agencies & GibChronicle/Photo: Letters from Gib.com) Two Spanish nationals were fined £50,000 by the Magistrates Court this week after they admitted attempting to smuggle 500,000 cigarettes across the border into Spain. Rafael Alberto Piñero Benítez, from Chiclana, and Yerina García Martín, from La Línea, were arrested by Customs officers on Good Friday as they were leaving Gibraltar in a motor caravan. Officers found the equivalent of 50 cases of cigarettes stashed throughout the caravan. The two pleaded guilty to charges of possession and unlawful transportation of a commercial quantity of cigarettes, as well as being knowingly concerned in its exportation. Stipendiary Magistrate Charles Pitto imposed a fine of £25,000 each to be paid immediately. In default of the payment, each defendant will spend 180 days in prison. The arrests come as police forces on both sides of the border are clamping down on contraband tobacco and Spain is toughening laws on it. The federation of tobacconists of the province of Cadiz have also been complaining bitterly that their business is severely impacted by smuggled tobacco on sale just about anywhere except at the official tobacco outlets like theirs.

Government to toughen measures against tobacco smuggling

SPAIN (Agencies) PSOE proposes amendment to reduce to 200 cigarrettes per month through borders. La Línea has been applying this measure at the Frontier since the beginning of the year. The party presented its proposal to amend the Suppression of Contraband Law in its passage through the Senate yesterday. In its presentation, it was said that there had been a 'substantial increase' in tax exempt tobacco, particularly across the frontiers at La Línea and from Andorra. The number of cigarettes allowed by the law at present>

One of the largest tobacco hauls at the border

GIBRALTAR/CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR (Agencies/Photo: Guardia Civil) As we've said before, we don't publish every item about tobacco smuggling that appears in the local media because there are just too many (we mean articles, not smugglers, although...). However, this one is one of the largest hauls ever, and it appeared in the Gibraltar Chronicle: In the early hours of last Friday morning the Guardia Civil at the border post with Gibraltar searched a Toyota Land Cruiser as it crossed in to Spain. Inside they found 9,500 packets of American Legend cigarettes. They were hidden in the back of the vehicle and were covered with blankets and plastic bags. Officers arrested a Gibraltarian with the initials K.V.M but due to a slip on the press notice it is known his first name is Kevin. The cigarettes and vehicle have been impounded and he awaits a court appearance.>

Kiosk owners complain of 'abusive searches' by customs agents

ALGECIRAS (Agencies/Photo: illustration only) The local kiosk owners association recently complained publicly that they were being subjected to searches by Customs agents looking for contraband tobacco. This, they say, is in direct contravention of the law as the searches are being carried out without either executive or judicial orders. The collective says that the inspectors do not leave proof of their having been there, nor do they have witnesses or notaries to prove their case in court, if that becomes necessary. These inspections are made exclusively at the various kiosks in the area, giving the impression that the inspectors are 'looking for drugs'. The method is that an inspector turns up, dressed like an ordinary citizen, asking for a packet of contraband cigarrettes. If the owner accedes to the question, a thorough inspection of the premises follows immediately, with confiscation of all contraband included. (Prospero note: Are we entirely surprised? In my experience, every kiosk in the Campo sells contraband tobacco.)