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Andorran Police Seize €14,700 Contraband Tobacco Hidden in Pas de la Casa Sewer

Authorities uncovered the stash in a sewer during a surveillance operation, highlighting ongoing efforts to combat smuggling in the border resort fueled by high taxes.

Key Points

  • 3,750 packets of tobacco hidden in sewer infrastructure recovered
  • Joint police-customs operation in Encamp parish resort near French border
  • No suspects arrested; site neutralized before retrieval
  • Persistent smuggling due to border location and high tobacco taxes

Andorran police and customs officers seized 3,750 packets of contraband tobacco worth nearly €14,700 from a sewer in Pas de la Casa during a coordinated surveillance operation.

The joint effort by the two agencies targeted the Encamp parish resort near the French border, where smugglers had been stockpiling bundles in the sewer infrastructure over time. Officers located the hiding spot through targeted monitoring, recovering seven bundles and neutralizing the site before the contraband could be retrieved.

No suspects have been identified or arrested in connection with depositing the tobacco, and officials have provided no details on the number of people involved, the duration of the site's use as a stash, or the precise timing of suspicious activity that prompted the intervention. A police statement focused solely on the seizure and the dismantling of the storage point, with no further information released on subsequent actions.

Pas de la Casa continues to face persistent smuggling challenges due to its strategic border location and high demand from neighboring countries, exacerbated by Andorra's elevated tobacco taxes. The operation underscores ongoing collaboration between police and customs to disrupt illicit trade routes in the area.

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