A joint operation by the Guardia Civil and the Tax Agency, named Operation Vatoil Visco, has led to the arrest of six people and the investigation of eight others belonging to a criminal organisation. Based in Murcia and operating in this region, Alicante and other provinces, the network was dedicated to the distribution and sale of hydrocarbons outside of fiscal control, defrauding the Public Treasury of more than 2 million euro in just one year.
All of those arrested have been brought before the Instruction Section of the Court of First Instance of Orihuela. One suspect was remanded in custody due to a pre-existing judicial warrant, while the rest were released under precautionary measures.
Investigation
The investigation began when officers detected unusual movements in several companies that were commercialising fuel without applying the taxes that levy its sale.
The organisation utilised a network of companies to acquire and distribute the product, alongside altered commercial documentation to give a legal appearance to operations and conceal the origin of profits.
Only during the year 2025, and exclusively in relation to two of the investigated companies, the organisation allegedly failed to pay around 400.000 euro in Value Added Tax and more than 1.800.000 euro in Special Hydrocarbon Tax.
After gathering sufficient evidence, the operation was executed through a broad deployment involving units from the Guardia Civil of Alicante and Murcia, alongside agents from the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency.
Searches
In the Region of Murcia, six searches were carried out, one in an industrial warehouse and the other five in different homes. Five of the suspects were arrested simultaneously, while a sixth suspect was located and detained the following day in the same autonomous community.
During the searches, officers seized five high-end vehicles, around 9.000 euro in cash and abundant documentation related to the investigated activity. As a preventive measure, three tanks containing 86,000 litres of fuel and the pumps of three service stations located in Villajoyosa, Miguelturra in Ciudad Real and Linares in Jaen were sealed. More than 60 bank accounts linked to the network were also blocked.
Those arrested face charges of belonging to a criminal organisation and, with varying degrees of participation, crimes against the Public Treasury, consumer rights, damages, document falsification, fraud and money laundering.
The operation was developed by the Judicial Police of the Guardia Civil in Alicante and the Second Section of Economic Investigation of the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency in Alicante, with support from the Guardia Civil Command of Murcia.
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