Five people arrested for violating the embargo on chemicals against Russia
Agents of the National Police, in a joint operation with Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency, arrested five people last Monday in the provinces of Barcelona –Barcelona, San Cugat del Vallés, Matadepera and Abrera- and Valencia –Bétera- as alleged perpetrators of a continuing crime of smuggling prohibited goods.
This is the continuation of Operation Probirka, carried out in October 2024, in which 13,000 kilos of a chemical substance included in the European sanctions against Russia and destined for this country were seized in the customs area of the Port of Barcelona.
As a result of the analysis of the information seized in this investigation, it has been possible to expand knowledge about this smuggling network that uses intermediaries and front companies in Kyrgyzstan and Armenia to divert chemical products to the real end user in Moscow.
In this second phase, new illegal exports to Russia of chemical products listed in both Regulation (EU) 2021/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2021 on Dual-Use, and in Regulation (EU) No 833/2014, concerning restrictive measures motivated by actions by Russia that destabilise the situation in Ukraine, have been documented.
Among the products diverted to Russia, a chemical substance classified as a precursor to chemical weapons or nerve agents, as well as others classified as precursors to explosives, has been found to be shipped.
During the search of the company, 70,000 euros in cash and relevant documents were seized, which are now being analysed by investigators.
Counter-proliferation
The General Information Commission of the National Police maintains a continuous effort in the investigation of crimes related to the illicit trafficking of defense materials and dual-use technologies, within the framework of community control regulations and international embargoes.
For its part, the Customs Surveillance Service, within its powers to discover, pursue and suppress smuggling acts and crimes, exercises, among other functions, the oversight of international trade operations related to the illicit trafficking of defense material and dual-use products and technologies.
Operation Probirka is led by the Central Court of Instruction Number One of the National Court and the Attorney General’s Office, and has been developed jointly by the General Information Commissioner, the Provincial Information Brigades of Barcelona, Girona and Valencia, the General Subdirectorate of Operations of the Deputy Directorate of Customs Surveillance and the Regional Areas of Customs Surveillance of Catalonia and Valencia.
