Tobacco smuggler sentenced for attacking an off-duty customs officer in Gibraltar as illegal trade with Spain continues to flourish

A man suspected of tobacco smuggling who kicked a customs officer in the chest and threatened him with a rock has been sentenced to 12 weeks in prison.

Jayron Perez, 25, of Glacis Estate, Gibraltar, pleaded guilty to assaulting the man and was sentenced in the District Court.

The court heard that just after 7pm on Friday, August 19, 2022, Perez and other accomplices appeared at the waterfront near Neil Piñero Road (formerly Emerson’s Place).

The group was loading suspected tobacco onto a ship when an off-duty customs officer arrived and shouted at them to stop.

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Perez then kicked the officer in the chest, knocking him to the ground and causing the officer to suffer multiple minor injuries.

He then picked up a large rock and threatened to hit the police officer, who was lying on the ground, with it.

The officer quickly fled the scene and requested backup from his colleagues.

Other customs officers arrived at the scene and tried to stop Perez from leaving in a car, but he climbed onto the sidewalk and nearly collided with members of the public as he fled.

The matter was reported to the Royal Gibraltar Police and following investigations Perez was identified on CCTV footage. He subsequently handed himself in and was arrested.

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Perez also pleaded guilty to carrying an offensive weapon (a rock), but he received no separate punishment. As he has already spent 19 weeks in custody, he will not serve any more time.

Tobacco smuggling has long been a lucrative business and another source of tension between Spain and Gibraltar, which does not levy sales tax.

Just last month, Gibraltar customs officials announced they had arrested two people and confiscated approximately 72 cartons of cigarettes from a Spanish ship loaded in Rosia Bay.

In 2023, Lisardo Capote, head of Spanish customs in Algeciras, accused Gibraltar of condoning illegal trade and even profiting from it.

“Tobacco is not a colonial problem,” he told the Financial Times. “Tobacco is a source of finance. The problems it causes are on our side.”