Booze & backy up, electricity too - but no council tax increase

SPAIN Taxes on tobacco and alcohol went up on Saturday, and electricity rises by 1.2% as from tomorrow, July 1. A pack of cigarettes now costs an average of €0.15 more and all alcohol except wine and beer, is up by about 10%. The government argues that the price of tobacco and alcohol is among the lowest in the EU (they don't mention low wages or unemployment, though). The levy on tobacco will be most noticeable on roll-up tobacco, to which many smokers unable to give up the habit turned because it is cheaper than ready-made cigarettes. Some €400 million is expected to be raised by these increases by the end of the year, and some €700m in 2014. Electricity, on the other hand>>>

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>>>

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.>>>

Spanish workers in Gibraltar plan to sue over tobacco measures

Queues at the frontier
(Photo: gbc.gi)

SPAIN / GIBRALTAR The organization that covers Spanish workers on the Rock, Asociación Sociocultural de Trabajadores Españoles en Gibraltar (Ascteg), is getting legal advice to sue against the measures that came into effect on January 1 whereby residents living within 15 kilometres in a straight line from the Frontier are allowed to bring through only 80 cigarettes -4 packets- per month. The president of Ascteg, Salvador Molina, told us that his association believes the measure to be 'discriminatory', particularly against La Línea, 'a town that is already suffering under the crisis', and against frontier workers, who are mentioned specifically in the law's text. Among other things, the law says that the tobacco now allowed through 'is more than satisfactory for possible usage." For its part, the Guardia Civil at the border as well as the Customs officers there are finding it especially difficult to explain the new laws to people crossing into Spain.

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.

Confirmed: Jimena and Tarifa are out of the 'tobacco loop'

Crossing into Spain

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR Measures announced recently and coming into effect on January 1, 2013, against tobacco smuggling said that only residents living within 15 kms from the Gibraltar frontier would be allowed to bring in a maximum of 4 packs per month. It is now confirmed that, although the 15k rule has been on the statute books for some time, it will now be put into effect. It is expected hat this will impact principally on residents of La Línea, Algeciras, San Roque, Castellar and Los Barrios, as well as frontier workers (to be defined) but excludes Jimena and Tarifa, whose residents will not be allowed any leeway at all. There is plenty of debate and controversy raging on both sides of the frontier. Madrid says that the geographical limitations have been in place since last year, when the number of packets allowed dropped from 30 to 10. Not that anybody has noticed this at the border controls. In any case, the limitations may be difficult to apply becauseYOU WILL SOON BE UNABLE TO

Pictures on packets have less dissuasive effect than high price of tobacco

More smokers willing to give up since enclosed area ban

SPAIN In a recent report the Organization of Consumers OCU concludes that the most persuasive anti-smoking tactic is in the price of tobacco. It is more effective than photos of diseased lungs or mouths printed on packets, or even than a ban on smoking in public places. The report reflects interviews with a number of organizations and research through experts. The price of cigarettes and other tobacco items went up in Spain on September 1 as the result of a new special tax, and also because VAT went up by 3% (to 21%) at the same time. Many smokers,YOU WILL SOON BE UNABLE

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

Arrested for attempted bribery

(Photo: espaciodigital.es)

LA LÍNEA A Spanish man was arrested at the border earlier this week after he offered a Guardia Civil officer money to turn a blind eye. According to The Gibraltar Chronicle he picked the wrong man. He wanted to get three boxes (boxes, not cartons) through the Spanish Customs at the border. Instead he was arrested for attempted bribery. This is only one of several incidents that are part of the GC's ongoing crackdown on tobacco smuggling. They have increased roadblocks coming out of La Línea and achieved a good measure of success, according to local sources.

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.

Boiling hot arrest

(Photo: eruropasur.es)

GIBRALTAR Customs announced yesterday in a press release that a 41 year old Spanish national had been detained by them as his van was about to leave Gibraltar with two boilers aboard. On closer inspection, the boilers contained 19,200 Winston cigarettes, or 96 cartons. The man, whose name has not been released, was freed on bail to appear in court on the 19th. The vehicle and its cargo were placed 'at the disposal of Customs.

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.)>>>

Number of smokers rises despite year-old smoking ban

Teenage smoking on the rise

Declaration of interest: Prospero gave up 20 months ago

SPAIN A year ago on January 2, 2011, a ban on smoking in public places went into effect. It was the most severe in Europe at the time. But it has not diminished the number of smokers -on the contrary, that figure has risen- and neither has it prevented teenagers taking up the habit. This according to the Sociedad Española de Neumología y Cirugía Torácica (Spanish Society of  Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery, or Separ in the Spanish acronym), who presented the first extensive study on the subject since the law's inception. Thus, it calculates that 17.65 of the population smokes, 0.50% more than before the last report in 2007. The 3,300 people surveyed produced another "worrying" item: the trend among 13 to 16 year olds is on an upward curve. The only good news to come out of the report is that>>>

"Please be less strict with our tobacco," they plead

(Photo: europasur.es) 

LA LÍNEA (Agencies) Dozens of people gathered yesterday outside the Aduana (Customs) area on the La Línea side, to ask that the Guardia Civil be less strict with the amount of tobacco they allow into Spain from Gibraltar. Confirming our article below, controls have been intensified of late. Spokesperson José Antonio Ors said that the GC "confiscate even your motorbike for just one carton of cigarettes over the limit. We have to eat!" He added that he had met with the head of the local Aduana, Miguel Ángel Arrocha. "We asked him to please go a bit easier with the searches," said Ors. "And we asked him why they used to look away until recently." The maximum allowed through is 200 cigarettes a month.

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.

Legal tobacco sales plummet

ALGECIRAS (Agencies) Tobacco sales from legal outlets in Algeciras amounted to €5.9 million in 2009, compared to that for Cádiz (city), at €23 million, or Jerez, with €30. Local tobacconists complain that controls at the frontier are ineffective. For further comparisons, the amounts for Algeciras are taken from numbers of towns of more than 75,000 inhabitants, yet Soria and Teruel, with a populations of 40,000 and well inland, register sales of over €6.8 million. The latest report from the Government has plenty of comparisons among cities and towns all over Spain. Similar circumstances appear near the Principality of Andorra, where the price of a carton of cigarettes is almost half of that on the Spanish side of the border. Police operations during the feria in Málaga this summer revealed that 93% of the tobacco confiscated came from Gibraltar. A spokesperson for the organization that congregates tobacconists in Algeciras, points out that their sales have fallen by 27% year on year and, he says, it affects the whole of the Campo area.

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.>>>