Three million cigarettes have been seized and 20 people have been arrested after Spanish police say they found a secret cigarette factory buried 13 feet underneath a horse stable.
Police in Spain and with Europol said that the plant, discovered last week, has been operational since last year and is the first such facility discovered in the European Union.
The factory, the entrance of which was hidden by a cargo container, was reportedly capable of churning out 3,500 cigarettes per hour and featured forced labor and toxic work conditions, according to ABC News.
The bunker was uncovered in Spain’s southern province of Malaga. Within the facility were beds and living quarters for the workers, who authorities said were forced to work a production line and were not allowed to leave the facility.
The Spanish Civil Guard said those arrested were a diverse group, including people from Ukraine and Lithuania, but that the group included mostly British people. The ringleader of the group was allegedly a fugitive Briton who was identified by police only by the initials D.D.
In addition to the millions of illicit cigarettes, weapons, hashish, and marijuana were found during police raids.
