site.btaCustoms Officials Seize Contraband Cigarettes Worth over BGN 820,000 at Kapitan Andreevo Checkpoint

Customs officers at the Kapitan Andreevo customs checkpoint discovered nearly 2,200,000 contraband cigarettes during an inspection of a truck entering the country from Turkiye on September 21, the Customs Agency said on Wednesday.

The Turkish-registered truck arrived at the checkpoint at 2:36 a.m. on September 21. The driver, a Turkish national, presented documents for the goods being transported - drainage clay for plants - from Kazakhstan via Turkiye to Bulgaria. The vehicle was selected for a thorough physical inspection, which found boxes of cigarettes hidden in the middle section of 72 of the paper sacks containing the declared goods. The total quantity of cigarettes found was 2,199,440 (109,972 boxes), all with foreign excise stamps, worth BGN 824,790 (EUR 421,708.43).

The tobacco products and the truck were seized. A pre-trial investigation has been initiated under the supervision of the Haskovo District Prosecution Office.