Daniel Dobbs, 31, was detained in February after police found the underground factory in Malaga, southern Spain. Nicknamed ‘Dobbo’, he was sentenced to 13-and-a-half years in prison in 2014 after he was convicted of trafficking heroin and amphetamines
A drug smuggler who escaped a Yorkshire prison and was arrested in Spain is back in jail after detectives found him working in a counterfeit cigarette factory 13 feet under a stable.
Daniel Dobbs, 31, was detained in February after detectives found the subterranean factory in the Malaga province of southern Spain.
Nicknamed ‘Dobbo’, he was sentenced to 13-and-a-half years in prison in 2014 after he was convicted of trafficking heroin and amphetamines.
He vanished from his cell at HMP Hatfield Lakes, a category D open prison in South Yorkshire, in November 2018 and was tracked down to Spain.
Dobbs was found living under under a false name and he was arrested as the Spanish Civil Guard smashed an organised crime group last week.
The underground plant, which had a full production line and could produce 3,500 cigarettes an hour, was said to be the first of its kind found in the EU.
Europol said the facility, which had been operating since 2019, included bunkbeds and living quarters for workers, who were forced to toil in dangerous and toxic conditions and not allowed to leave on their own.
The underground plant, which had a full production line and could produce 3,500 cigarettes an hour, was said to be the first of its kind found in the EU
Dobbs was held alongside 19 other people, including other Britons, as police seized more than three million cigarettes, along with 20kg of hashish, 144kg of marijuana, three weapons, and GPS tracking and jamming devices
Dobbs was sentenced to 24 months in prison for escape from lawful custody, and 12 months for improper use of an identity document and the sentences will run concurrently, the agency said. The extra two years will run consecutively with the remainder of his drug trafficking sentence, the NCA added
Dobbs was held alongside 19 other people, including other Britons, as police seized more than three million cigarettes, along with 20kg of hashish, 144kg of marijuana, three weapons, and GPS tracking and jamming devices.
He was brought back to the UK in March and on Tuesday he was handed further jail time at Lewes Crown Court, the NCA said.
Dobbs was sentenced to 24 months in prison for escape from lawful custody, and 12 months for improper use of an identity document and the sentences will run concurrently, the agency said.
The extra two years will run consecutively with the remainder of his drug trafficking sentence, the NCA added.
Alison Abbott, of the NCA’s offender lifetime management unit, said: ‘It is apparent that Dobbs is a harmful and persistent offender who thought he could escape the UK and avoid detection.
‘But together with international partners, we tracked him down, and now he’s back behind bars where he belongs.
The hideaway was uncovered in Monda, Malaga, near the tourist hotspot of Marbella
Europol said the facility, which had been operating since 2019, included bunkbeds and living quarters for workers, who were forced to toil in dangerous and toxic conditions and not allowed to leave on their own
When the Spanish Civil Guard raided the underground base in Malaga, the factory workers were allegedly ‘left to die’ by their bosses before they were discovered
Detectives have revealed the mens’ supply of oxygen was cut off when the diesel-powered generator they depended on for clean air stopped working
‘The NCA pursues fugitives relentlessly. No matter where they are, nor how long it takes, we will catch up with those who flee UK justice.’
Dobbs was on the run for more than a year after he broke out of jail. He admitted conspiracy to supply amphetamine and was convicted of conspiracy to supply heroin out of Doncaster in January 2014, according to reports at the time.
When the Spanish Civil Guard raided the underground base in Malaga, the factory workers were allegedly ‘left to die’ by their bosses before they were discovered.
This left them gasping for air as they shouted and banged on the soundproofed trapdoor to raise the alarm to the police investigating above their heads.
Detectives have revealed the mens’ supply of oxygen was cut off when the diesel-powered generator they depended on for clean air stopped working.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard said at the time: ‘A criminal organisation composed of British, Lithuanian and Ukrainian nationals, which made and commercialised black market cigarettes and was involved in drugs smuggling, has been smashed’
A Spanish Civil guard enters an illegal underground tobacco factory in Monda
Spanish Civil guards checks enter an illegal underground tobacco factory in Monda, southern Spain on February 2
Inside the bunker Spanish police found a large machine for making cigarettes (pictured) alongside a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom for those living there
The machine created and packaged up cigarettes which are thought to have been destined for the UK market. A British gang is also said to have been running the operation
‘Once inside, the police agents saw with great surprise the six workers who were struggling to breathe in an utterly insalubrious atmosphere,’ police said.
‘If the officials had not found the clandestine factory in time, the lack of oxygen would have soon made… the underground conditions incompatible with the survival of the workers who were there.’
Police discovered the bunker by using a forklift truck to move the shipping container and climb down a ladder after the workers made a desperate attempt to escape as their air supply ran out, but were not heard shouting for help.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard said at the time: ‘A criminal organisation composed of British, Lithuanian and Ukrainian nationals, which made and commercialised black market cigarettes and was involved in drugs smuggling, has been smashed.
‘Twenty people have been arrested and 13 searches have been carried out at residential properties and warehouses.
‘The operation has led to the seizure of 153,000 packets of cigarettes which were ready to be sold, 17,600 kilos of tobacco, 20 kilograms of cannabis resin and 144 kilograms of marihuana.’