Spain’s Guardia Civil seize 26,000 illegal cigarette packets in Malaga province

TENS of thousands of cigarette packets have been seized by the Guardia Civil in the province of Malaga.

According to EFE, the driver of a van transporting the contraband has been arrested in Alhaurin de la Torre.

The arrest took place on Thursday when the officers in the town noticed a van that seemed to be carrying an excessive amount of weight.

The agents then decided to pull it over for a routine stop and search.

Inside the van they found numerous cardboard boxes containing 26,000 cigarette packets from numerous brands.

Once questioned, the driver was unable to prove the legal origin of the merchandise.

For this reason, the packets were seized and the 47-year-old driver from Mijas has been arrested on smuggling crimes.

It is still unclear whether the driver worked with any accomplices and whether the police have any leads on them.