Alex Trelinski
A MASSIVE counterfeit cigarette racket has been busted in Alicante province.
The gang had a network of factories and warehouses making and distributing the fake fags abroad as well as to Spanish clients.
Seven people have been arrested and millions of illegal cigarettes have been seized along with production-line machinery.
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A joint operation between the Guardia Civil, Policia Nacional, and the Tax Agency was launched late last year after large amounts of cigarette manufacturing materials were dumped at a rubbish facility in Onil.
Officers then located a lorry carrying a consignment of 328,000 cigarette packets in the Vega Baja region.
The seizure revealed that several warehouses were being used to make and distribute the cigarettes- many of which were exported.
The network had premises in Alicante, Elche, Mutxamel, and Xixona.
The main production line was in a Mutxamel warehouse, where the workers stayed and slept overnight.
Personal effects, beds and even Vitamin D supplements to counter a lack of exposure to the sun, were found.
Five Spaniards and a Columbian were arrested in Santomera(Murcia) as well as in Alicante province at San Juan, Aspe, Castalla and Alicante City.
They have been charged with crimes against public health, smuggling, industrial property, and organised crime.
An Elche court imprisoned two of the gang members, with investigations still ongoing.
Further arrests in Spain and abroad are not being ruled out with Europol also involved in the probe.
