11 million cigarettes seized in an operation against tobacco smuggling and counterfeiting

The Spanish Civil Guard has seized 11 million cigarettes, equivalent to 585,374 packs, and more than eight tons of loose tobacco, all valued at five million euros, in an operation against tobacco smuggling and counterfeiting. Furthermore, a criminal organization composed of citizens of Eastern European countries has been dismantled. This organization had a considerable capacity to export goods out of Spain and caused significant losses to the public treasury.

The operation, dubbed “Tapol,” resulted in the arrest of five people and the investigation of a sixth. Authorities also seized numerous logistical materials, industrial machinery for cigarette production, three tractor units, and four semi-trailers, some of which were equipped with false license plates, used by the group to transport the merchandise.

The investigation, carried out by the Organic Unit of the Judicial Police of the Civil Guard Command in Málaga, began in July 2025 when Polish authorities alerted them to the existence of this criminal organization in southern Spain. The group operated from the provinces of Málaga, Granada, Córdoba, and Valencia, where they manufactured, packaged, and distributed cigarettes internationally.

After a thorough investigation, an industrial building located in the town of Gójar (Granada) was detected that was being used to receive and store shipments of material and raw materials from Poland.

An illegal factory in Lucena (Cordoba)

The investigators were able to verify that this merchandise was distributed from there to an illegal tobacco factory located on the outskirts of the town of Lucena (Córdoba), where they had specialized industrial machinery and trained personnel to process the material and tube and package millions of cigarettes in screen-printed packs identical to registered and recognized brands, but without a tax seal.

The agents discovered that the cigarettes were packaged in batches of ten and transported to a third warehouse that the organization owned in the Valencian town of Benaguacil, where they were stored and ready for distribution outside of Spain.

After a six-month investigation, carried out with the support of Europol and the police of the Suwalki Department (Poland), all members of the criminal organization were identified. The organization was perfectly structured and highly specialized in criminal activity, and all of them belonged to Eastern European countries such as Poland, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.

The operation has resulted in several phases of exploitation, in which several shipments made in large trucks have been intercepted and the illegal factory in Lucena has been dismantled.

120,000 packs of cigarettes seized in France

The investigation has revealed that the organization used a shell company created specifically for this illicit activity. Given the volume of merchandise processed and the evasion of tobacco taxes, it is estimated that the group generated substantial profits and caused significant harm to the public treasury.

Furthermore, expert reports have revealed that this criminal organization is directly related to a seizure of 120,000 packs of cigarettes carried out in September in France, which has corroborated the smuggling of tobacco produced in Spain.