Tobacco smuggling bust in Spain underlines how the illegal trade with Gibraltar continues despite crackdowns

TOBACCO smuggling from Gibraltar to Spain continues to be a scourge after Spanish police carried out raids in the Campo de Gibraltar.

The operation, codenamed ‘Taguada’, saw police action across La Linea de la Concepcion and San Roque, with Guardia Civil officers searching five properties and confiscating eight vehicles used for transporting the illegal tobacco.

Police arrested 13 people and seized 100,000 packs of contraband cigarettes in searches on five properties. A further eight vehicles used for transporting the illegal tobacco were confiscated.

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The seizure, valued at around €450,000, marks one of the largest tobacco smuggling busts in the Campo de Gibraltar area over the last 12 months.

Police sources said the operation was specifically targeting the prevention and disruption of tobacco smuggling from Gibraltar into Spain.

The Campo de Gibraltar region, particularly La Linea, has long been a hotspot for tobacco smuggling due to the price difference between cigarettes sold in Gibraltar and Spain.

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However, concrete steps taken by Gibraltar have managed to dampen what was a roaring illicit trade, with the government hiking tax on tobacco by 25% in November.

Meanwhile, a survey of empty tobacco packets in Spain found that Gibraltar had dropped as a source of illicit tobacco from 67% in 2021 to just 7.6% as of last October.