An illegal cigarette factory was discovered and shut down in the province of Malaga, Spain, where 20 people were arrested and 6 Ukrainian and Lithuania workers were found gasping for breath in a bunker under horse stables after an air pump's generator failed. According to local authorities and Europol, the counterfeit factory could produce up to 3,500 cigarettes per hour, and is the first underground counterfeit cigarette factory found in the European Union. Among the arrested were 12 British nationals.
Local media reports that the 20 people were arrested earlier in the day, but failed to inform police that 6 workers were in the bunker. While police were searching the area, the workers banged and shouted for help from the bunker.
In total, police confiscated about 153,000 packs of cigarettes (~3 million cigarettes), over 17 tonnes of rolling tobacco, 3 weapons, 8 GPS tracking devices, 20 kilograms of hashish, and 144 kilograms of marijuana.
Europol sources state that the bunker was about 4 meters underground, and though the workers were paid for their work in the facility, they were blindfolded and escorted when going to and from the factory. The workers were typically not allowed to exit the bunker while at work. It is estimated that these illegal activities could bring in an estimated €625,000 per week in profits, and operations likely started in about 2019.
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