ARCHIVED - British ringleader arrested at the first underground cigarette factory discovered in Europe

The factory was well hidden under a stables in the province of Málaga and produced 6 million euros’ worth of cigarettes a month

The Guardia Civil in the province of Málaga have successfully dismantled the first underground clandestine cigarette factory to have been discovered in Europe and arrested 20 people of British, Lithuanian and Ukrainian origin, according a UK national who is accused of being one of the leaders of the criminal organization behind it.

The factory was located in the outskirts of the small town of Monda, in the mountains of the Sierra de las Nieves, and was underneath a stables covered with a metal roof. Hidden under the ground was a 200-square-metre cigarette factory where activity continued 24 hours a day, where workers lived without seeing sunlight for weeks at a time, working 12-hour shifts. The conditions in which they were kept resembled slavery, sleeping in bunk beds and with no windows or ventilation other than a generator-powered fan.

This was the scale of the operation discovered by the Guardia before they raided the premises on 11th February and arrested 20 people, 12 of whom are being held in prison pending trial.

Howard Pugh of Interpol confirms that this is the first underground tobacco factory to be uncovered in Europe, and that the Guardia raid was made possible by collaboration with the forces of law and order in Poland as well as Lithuania and the UK. During the course of the investigation it was also established that a second factory of similar characteristics was being built in Spain, although further details have not been released.

Even after the Guardia Civil located the plot where cigarettes were being illegally produced it proved difficult to find the way to access the factory, as those who had been detained steadfastly refused to divulge any information. After 18 hours the lives of those who remained under the ground were at risk due to the generator having failed, and fortunately officers managed to find the entry in time to avoid a tragic outcome.

Despite it having been built rapidly, the factory was extremely well concealed, and to find it officers had to draw a straight line connecting various clues which were found during the investigation. When they eventually made their way into the underground facilities officers were surprised to find not only the six workers who had been trapped there but also a fully equipped kitchen with seven chairs, two fridges and a satellite TV system, as well as a dormitory with 4 bunk beds and a bathroom equipped with a shower.

These were alongside the production area, with all of the tools and machinery needed to undertake such large-scale manufacture, and the items taken into custody included 17.6 tons of rolling tobacco, 153,000 packs of cigarettes (containing over 3 million cigarettes), 144 kilos of marijuana and 20 kilos of hashish.

The brand of cigarettes being falsely produced was the Bulgarian “Cartel”, with the product being distributed to France, Germany and, above all, the UK and being sold at 2 euros per packet (as opposed to legal sale prices which in France reach 12 euros).

The investigation remains on-going and further arrests have not been ruled out.

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