Bulgarian-run international crime group for illegal cigarette production busted

An international crime group for illegal cigarette production, led by Bulgarians, has been disrupted, the Ministry of Interior announced on May 20. 22 people were detained, including two Bulgarian nationals.

In close cooperation and continuous exchange of information between the Spanish National Police and the Chief Directorate for Combating Organized Crime - the "Anti-smuggling" sector of the Customs, Tax and Social Security Department, the authorities identified an international criminal organization for illicit manufacturing of cigarettes on the territory of Spain, which were then distributed in EU countries.

Work on the case began in 2017, following information from the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime submitted to the Spanish Criminal Police Directorate General about an organized criminal group in Bulgaria that intends to build cigarette production in Spain and establish a distribution network at national and international level.

It was identified that the tobacco was imported from Bulgaria without going through customs controls, then used in Spain for the illicit manufacturing of cigarettes, and subsequently distributed mainly in the country of production, in Germany and the United Kingdom. In the process, it was found that consumables and production machines were also imported to Spain from Bulgaria. The large sums of money from the illegal activity were "laundered" through other companies. Much of the money was invested in the construction of luxury houses and residential buildings in Bulgaria and Spain. Credit cards for the purposes of fraud were also used in different venues.

In the course of the joint investigation, the authorities found warehouses of the criminal group in Barcelona and Constantine, Tarragona province, where the investigators assumed the illegal cigarette production took place.

The investigation established that the head of the group in Spain developed a network of legitimate businesses in the shadow of which the criminal activity was practiced, with over 200 people working for it. He and his trusted persons, including a Spanish and a Moldovan citizen, have built a network of companies for construction, transport and acquisition of companies abroad. This structure was highly specialized, used encrypted communication and devices to mute frequencies. The distribution of illegally produced cigarettes was carried out under high security measures.

After having established enough facts and circumstances about the criminal activity, the police conducted an operation in Spain in early April this year. Several searches and seizures were carried out and 22 people were arrested, including two Bulgarian citizens. The activities of the illegal cigarette factory in Konstantin were disrupted.

The police detained 15 Ukrainians and one Moldovan citizen - workers, as well as a Bulgarian who controlled the working process. The interior of the warehouse where the illegal factory was built was equipped with a soundproofing system, and there was also a living area for workers with beds, toilets, showers and kitchen. As a safety measure during the production cycle, workers lived indoors and without mobile phones. Some of them reported that they did not even know where they were because they landed in Spain and arrived in the EU with flights from Ukraine.

In the further actions, the police arrested lorry drivers who were involved in the distribution of the finished product.

According to the Spanish authorities, the illicit factory per day was able to produce boxes of cigarettes enough for a lorry, and so far they have not identified so many counterfeit brands (a total of 13) produced in one place.