• Seven people have been investigated as alleged perpetrators of crimes of smuggling, crimes against public health, crimes against industrial property, crimes against natural resources and the environment, concealment of assets, simulation of crime and membership in a criminal organization.
• Nearly 24 tons of illegal phytosanitary products, valued at 800,000 euros, have been seized in two warehouses, located in San Javier and Murcia
• The substances entered Spanish territory through Madrid-Barajas airport and, by sea, through the port of Valencia.

May 3, 2024.- The Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency in Murcia and the Civil Guard of the Region of Murcia have jointly developed the 'Phytes' operation, an investigation that has resulted in the dismantling of a criminal group allegedly dedicated to the introduction and marketing of illegal phytosanitary products from China.

In the operation, around 24 tonnes of these substances were seized in San Javier and Murcia, valued at 800,000 euros, and seven people were investigated, one of whom was arrested, as alleged perpetrators of crimes of smuggling, crimes against public health, crimes against industrial property, crimes against natural resources and the environment, concealment of assets, simulation of crime and membership of a criminal organisation.

The investigation began in 2022, when the Tax Agency's Customs Surveillance Service detected the entry of aluminum envelopes from China, through the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport, suspected of containing illegal merchandise.

The initial investigation revealed that the marketing company was based in the Region of Murcia, so the investigation focused on finding out where they could be stored.

From that moment on, after the Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the Region of Murcia was informed, the Customs Surveillance Service of the Region of Murcia and the Seprona of the Civil Guard of Murcia initiated a series of coordinated services.

During the surveillance and controls carried out on the members of this criminal group, it was possible to locate the place where the products were stored and distributed, at which time the investigative team made a visit to this industrial warehouse, located in San Javier, in order to identify, recount and take samples of the products to determine the extent of the irregularities that could be being committed.

Simulation of crime

Following this inspection, the suspects simulated the theft of the products – which the laboratories later identified as prohibited – and filed a complaint in the corresponding court, abandoning the warehouse as a safe place of storage and distribution.

Investigators found out that the products reported stolen had been moved to two other sites, located in San Javier and in a disused pig shed in the Murcia district of Los Dolores.

The search of these two premises led to the location and seizure of nearly 24 tonnes of liquid and solid phytosanitary products, valued at 800,000 euros, as well as documentation related to the criminal network.

Some of the seized pesticides were not labelled or packaged correctly and their sale is not authorised, with various companies on the national market selling them legally. The criminal network, which has now been dismantled, was allegedly selling them at half the market price, which also represents unfair competition for the sector.

Forbidden gender

Most of the seized products incorporated substances used in pesticide, insecticide or fungicide preparations, included in the List of active substances with active ingredients mentioned in Regulation (EU) No 649/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of July 4, 2012, regarding the export and import of dangerous chemical products and are considered a prohibited genre, according to Law 12/1995, of December 12, on the Repression of Smuggling.

Uplift of goods

Investigators also discovered that the leader of the organisation – a 43-year-old woman of Romanian nationality and based in the Region of Murcia – who had accumulated a significant amount of real estate and car assets from the profits of illegal activity, simulated donations and transfers of homes and vehicles to her mother and other people she trusted, in order to avoid any measures that could be taken against these assets and to try to evade any financial responsibilities that could be imposed on her.

Finally, during the exploitation phase of the operation, two vehicles used for transporting the products were seized and three homes and a motorhome were blocked as a precaution, despite the seizure of assets carried out by the leader of the organization.

According to the investigation, the business began with the acquisition of pesticides not regulated in the European Union, continued with their illegal entry into Spanish territory and ended with their distribution at a national level.

Investigators have determined that the criminal network apparently began with the introduction of half-kilo aluminium envelopes of the product through Barajas airport, although, in the belief that they were going unnoticed, they increased the purchases, reaching the point of introducing large quantities through the port of Valencia.

The seven suspects – two women and five men, of Romanian, Spanish and Colombian nationality –, the seized products and effects, as well as the proceedings carried out, have been placed at the disposal of the Investigative Court number 1 of San Javier (Murcia).