A man who was caught attempting to smuggle almost £25,000 worth of cigarettes out of Gibraltar has been fined £9,000.

Spanish national Fernando Puyol Lebron, 41, of La Linea, pleaded guilty to a charge of being Knowingly Concerned in the Exportation of a Commercial Quantity of Cigarettes and was sentenced at the Magistrates’ Court yesterday (6 June).

The court heard that at around 2am on Saturday 9 December 2023, RGP officers patrolling Queensway spotted Puyol Lebron travelling in a Gibraltar-plated car at an unusually slow speed.

As the officers slowed down to investigate, the car suddenly accelerated, causing the speed camera on Queensway to activate.

Upon reaching the roundabout at the Mid Harbour Estate, Puyol Lebron took a sudden left turn, travelling the incorrect way against the flow of traffic into Coaling Island and ignoring a No Entry sign.

He then abandoned the vehicle and ran off, before appearing from behind several parked cars and attempting to leave the area. He was arrested and handcuffed, before being brought to New Mole House Police Station.

Officers noted that the vehicle’s rear seats had been completely removed in order to accommodate numerous cardboard boxes containing 190,000 cigarettes in a variety of assorted brands. 

At court, Puyol Lebron also pleaded guilty to Dangerous Driving and Unlawful Transportation of Cigarettes in a Commercial Quantity, to which he received No Separate Penalties.