On 16 February, over a hundred officers simultaneously raided addresses on either side of the border, resulting in:


Eight suspects detained
2 tonnes of cut tobacco and tobacco strips seized
Over 10 000 counterfeit cigarettes seized, alongside equipment for tobacco cutting and drying 
EUR 37 800 in cash recovered
Property searches were carried out in the province of Sevilla (Spain) and in the cities of Coimbra, Lisbon, Leiria and Aveiro (Portugal). 


The criminals are suspected of having illegally imported from Spain to Portugal large quantities of tobacco leafs and strips, destined to produce counterfeit cigarettes. This criminal network had tobacco storage and production facilities scattered across both countries. 

It is believed that these criminals have smuggled over 7 tonnes of tobacco products from Spain to Portugal in 2021 alone. 

The revenue loss generated by this illegal activity is estimated at over EUR 163 000 in Portugal. 

Europol support

Europol’s support was instrumental in the success of the case:


Europol brought together the national investigators on both sides who have since been working closely together to establish a joint strategy to bring down this network.
Since then, Europol has provided continuous intelligence development and analysis to support the field investigators.
During the action day, Europol’s European Financial and Economic Crime Centre deployed a mobile office to Sevilla and provided financial support for the deployment of two Portuguese officers in the operational centre in Spain.


This operation was carried out in the framework of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT). 
 

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