16 Nov, 2017 @ 09:57
1 min read

Guardia Civil uncover 250 TONNES of illegal tobacco leaf in Europe’s biggest ever haul

Op Pacote Badajoz

GUARDIA Civil officers have uncovered Europe’s biggest ever illegal tobacco haul.

Some six people have been arrested after 250 tonnes of tobacco leaves were seized across eight different addresses in Caceres and Badajoz.

The haul has a street value of more than €40 million.

The property raids also turned up €23,000 in cash and a car while all bank accounts of the suspects have been frozen.

The small criminal group transported the tobacco and home made cigarettes on huge trucks, hiding them among legitimate tobacco transports.

They used fake documentation to make the hauls seem legitimate.

The organisation is thought to have made at least €14 million in profit last year after transporting 85 tonnes of tobacco leaves.

 

 

 

Laurence Dollimore

Laurence Dollimore is a Spanish-speaking, NCTJ-trained journalist with almost a decade’s worth of experience.
The London native has a BA in International Relations from the University of Leeds and and an MA in the same subject from Queen Mary University London.
He earned his gold star diploma in multimedia journalism at the prestigious News Associates in London in 2016, before immediately joining the Olive Press at their offices on the Costa del Sol.
After a five-year stint, Laurence returned to the UK to work as a senior reporter at the Mail Online, where he remained for two years before coming back to the Olive Press as Digital Editor in 2023.
He continues to work for the biggest newspapers in the UK, who hire him to investigate and report on stories in Spain.
These include the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Mail Online, Mail on Sunday and The Sun and Sun Online.
He has broken world exclusives on everything from the Madeleine McCann case to the anti-tourism movement in Tenerife.

GOT A STORY? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call +34 951 273 575 Twitter: @olivepress

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