20 people, including 15 Bulgarians, have been detained in Spain for the illegal production of cigarettes, reported DANS.
The international operation began in 2023 – information on the activities of international organized criminal groups with illegal factories for the production of cigarettes was acquired in the National Security Agency. The OPGs supplied the factories with raw materials and consumables, hired workers and marketed the production.
In parallel with this, the operation of channels for smuggling cigarette products without a banderol has been established.
In 2023 and 2024, coordination was carried out with the partner services of Spain. It was established that the money obtained from the criminal activity was “laundered”.
In March and April 2024, two illegal factories were discovered in the Spanish cities of Madrid and Lucena, with equipment for the production, packaging and distribution of cigarette products of well-known brands.
A total of 20 people were arrested as alleged members of a criminal organization, fifteen of whom are Bulgarian citizens.
More than six million short fake cigarettes were seized, as well as 33 tons of raw tobacco with a total value of more than 7.5 million euros.
A hiding place for the workers
The Lucena factory was designed and built to prevent access from the outside and make it difficult to detect, with the entrance to its interior masked by a second adjacent building that the detainees gave the appearance of a legitimate business. Inside, in a specially built wall, a hiding place was made for the workers to hide in case of a police inspection.
The seized production amounted to approximately more than 6 million counterfeit cigarettes, as well as 33 tons of tobacco leaves, the approximate value of which is estimated at around 7.6 million euros.
It is also worth noting the international cooperation with the European agencies EUROPOL and OLAF, the Department for Operational and Search Activities of the Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and especially with the Bulgarian State Agency for National Security.
The investigation remains open and further action has not been ruled out.
