A man wanted in France arrested in Málaga for an 80 million alcohol tax fraud

The National Police has arrested this past Monday in the Malaga municipality of Estepona a 60-year-old man who was weighed by a European Arrest and Surrender Order (OEDE) issued by the French authorities.

The suspect was wanted for allegedly participating in a criminal organization that would have defrauded some 80 million euros in alcohol tax, in the French country, the National Police said in a statement.

The investigation to find the whereabouts of this citizen, carried out by agents assigned to the Local Immigration and Borders Brigade of the Estepona Police Station, with the collaboration of the Udyco-Estepona Organized Crime and Drugs Unit, as well as the authorities of France and the United Kingdom, has finally made it possible to locate the suspect, who had established his address in a residential area of ​​Marbella (Málaga).

The agents, who were following the trail of the judicial defendant, located him on the Camino de la Resinera in Estepona, on November 7.

According to the investigations, the suspect frequently changed his address and tried to go unnoticed among the important British colony that resides in the area, being in an irregular situation in the country in terms of immigration.

Thus, as stated in the indictment, the now detainee had a prominent role in a plot dedicated to fraudulent activities perpetrated in France. In 2019, the suspect was charged with participating in an excise tax fraud on alcohol perpetrated between 2014 and 2018, with special incidence in the department of Paso de Calais. The organization used illicit maneuvers and false documents for this, estimating the damage generated at around 80 million euros.

Finally, the National Police arrested this person under a European Arrest and Surrender Order in force for crimes of fraud, money laundering, document fraud, tax evasion, among others. The facts are known by the Central Court of Instruction number 1.