• The two detainees owned real estate assets worth one million euros, obtained through the sale of contraband tobacco and the cultivation of marijuana.
• They had created a corporate structure to hide their illicit profits and through intermediary persons or companies

August 7, 2024.- The Tax Agency and the Civil Guard, in a joint operation, have arrested two people and are investigating two others as alleged perpetrators of a crime of tobacco smuggling and money laundering. The operations began last October, when the Civil Guard of Jerez de la Frontera arrested two people after carrying out a raid and search in a property in the town, due to a crime of tobacco smuggling. There, 44,930 packets of contraband tobacco, 13 kilograms of chopped tobacco, two marijuana plantations with a total of 649 plants weighing 47.53 kilos and an unlicensed hunting rifle were seized.

Following this intervention, a second phase of the actions was initiated, carried out jointly and in coordination with the Operational Unit of the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency of Jerez de la Frontera, in order to determine the possible occurrence of an illicit money laundering offense.

Following fieldwork and analysis of all economic data relating to the suspects, including consultations in tax databases, public records and notarial documents, the existence of an unjustified increase in assets was determined. This resulted in the possession of various real estate assets, valued at approximately one million euros.

The evidence uncovered points to the existence of a network of intermediary companies to conceal the illicit origin of the money from marijuana cultivation and tobacco smuggling, which was invested in the purchase of real estate assets valued at 1 million euros.

Based on the investigation, a search warrant was requested at the home of the main suspect, where important documentation for the case was seized. At the same time, another 10,600 packets of contraband tobacco were seized, with a value of more than 51,000 euros. This could constitute a new crime of smuggling, helping to confirm the initial theories of investigators from the Civil Guard and the Tax Agency.

During the police operation, two people were arrested, both brothers, as alleged perpetrators of the main crimes investigated, while two other local residents were investigated as facilitators of the crime of money laundering.