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May 22 - Violence Against Customs Officers

custcarViolence was used against officers of HM Customs who disrupted a cigarette smuggling operation on Monday. The officers, on a routine patrol, saw two men running from the public area at Eastern Beach and through the restricted area towards the frontier fence. The officers gave chase and retrieved a number of bags containing a commercial quantity of cigarettes. The two men made good their escape by swimming around to the Spanish beach after discarding their bags.

As the officers were loading the retrieved cigarettes into their patrol vehicle, a group of men approached the Spanish side of the fence and began to verbally abuse them. This then escalated into physical violence when the men started to throw rocks over the frontier fence at the officers. Although the officers were not injured, their patrol car suffered serious damage.

13,940 cigarettes (69 cartons) were seized by HM Customs in this incident.

In an unrelated incident, a local man was challenged by HM Customs in the frontier loop road to Spain. He was arrested after a search of his vehicle conducted by officers resulted in the detection of 10,000 cigarettes (50 cartons) concealed within the dashboard. The 21 year old has been bailed to surrender on June 19th. The cigarettes and a locally registered vehicle have been seized by HM Customs.

The Government is working with HM Customs and the Royal Gibraltar Police to control activity which is in contravention to the Tobacco Act. The Government has recently agreed increased resources for HM Customs and RGP to address these issues as well as working with both agencies on the declaration of special zones and tightening up on the quantities of tobacco which individuals can possess in these areas.