On the 20th April 1997 the Spanish regional press reported the arrest of several persons, including senior Spanish Customs officials of the Spanish Customs post at La Linea, after a Customs operation dobbed "Operation Gibraltar". The Spanish press reports stated that Gibraltar Customs officials must have been involved in stamping of false certificates.
These allegations have been investigated by senior Customs Officers.
That investigation has shown that there was no involvement by Gibraltar Customs Officers and futher that none was necessary in order to make possible the alleged customs fraud in Spain. No certificates, false or otherwise, were issued or stamped by Gibraltar Customs in respect of the containers. Nor was there any other Gibraltar Customs involvement with the operation the subject matter of the Spanish investigation. Nor did any such containers transit through Gibraltar.
These facts have been eccepted by an investigating officer of Spanish Customs who has visited Gibraltar.
The Government is satisfied that the reports linking Gibraltar Customs to this alleged fraud in Spain are wholly unfounded. The Gibraltar Government accordingly regards as inappropriate and unnecessarily inflammatory that this operation was named "Operacion Gibraltar" when such fraud or malpractice as may have occurred in Spain without involvement of any member of the Gibraltar administration.