Andorra's Criminal Court wrapped up the three-day Operació Lliri trial over a smuggling ring linked to a

Andorra's Criminal Court has concluded the Operació Lliri trial after three days of hearings examining an alleged tobacco smuggling network tied to a Lauredià transport and commerce firm.

The case involves five defendants facing charges of sustained smuggling, habitual money laundering, criminal association, vehicle modifications for hidden compartments, and repeated computer data manipulation. Police investigations identified 31 border crossings into Spain from June to October 2017, carrying tobacco worth nearly €2 million. Prosecutors, in their final arguments on the third day, confirmed the updated figure from an initial 19 trips, based on surveillance, phone records, and accounting analysis. They seek six years and six months in prison for the lead defendant—a Sant Julià de Lòria tobacco seller—plus a €2.6 million fine and forfeiture of at least €1.94 million in assets, totalling over €4.5 million in penalties. Fines for the two brothers, aged over 21 at the time, rose to €270,000 each, while the remaining two face mainly suspended sentences and fines up to €200,000 and €135,000 respectively. The alleged ringleader, father of the brothers, has been at large since 2018 and was tried in absentia after the court rejected defence requests to suspend proceedings, ruling all notification attempts exhausted.

The investigation began with a March 2017 Guardia Civil interception in Tarragona under Operació Camps, seizing €48,000 in tobacco from two Andorran-registered vehicles. Andorran police launched surveillance around May, documenting a routine: the brothers collected 8 to 16 half-boxes of low-cost brands from Sant Julià garages or the firm's rear, moving them to Santa Coloma and Escaldes sites. Volvo and Dacia vehicles with double floors—each holding up to 200 cartons—then crossed the Riu Runer border in convoys, led by spotter cars, returning within about 20 minutes. Activity declined after a second Spanish seizure in October 2017, with shifts to front-door loading and other locations.

Accounting from 2015 to 2018 showed irregularities: 90% cash sales in 50-carton batches despite larger hauls up to 400, atypical for tourist patterns, with post-pickup registration spikes. Prosecutors outlined precise roles in an organised setup, tying sales to observed trips. Police described the operation as "mechanical and repetitive," nearly daily from Monday to Friday.

All present defendants denied criminal organisation. The lead suspect described legitimate daytime sales with receipts, suspecting some buyers' motives but focusing on earning a living. The 29-year-old brother admitted transporting and unloading boxes under his father's threats of eviction and assaults, citing unemployment and financial dependence in 2017; he denied loading, buying, selling, or knowing recipients, and noted his current job and family rift. His sibling echoed coercion despite family history suspicions, insisting on compliance without full awareness. A vehicle owner denied knowledge of modifications, having lent seized cars to avoid upkeep costs.

Defences challenged direct links—only nine trips tied to the firm—questioned identifications and payments, and called police conclusions hypothetical, points partly conceded but upheld by cumulative evidence. They accused prosecutors of portraying the seller as a mafia boss for licensed sales, seeking acquittal or minimum penalties given the decade since events, the closed shop, and no priors. Court experts disagreed on accounts: the judicial one flagged cash mismatches, low-cost dominance (97% in 50-unit 2017 batches), and August sales dips amid tourism peaks; the defence expert attributed patterns to seasonality, tourist flux, and €60,000 gaps from cash supplier payments, deeming seizures coincidental.

The court now awaits defence closings before delivering a verdict.