site.btaCustoms Officers Seize 14,000 Boxes of Smuggled Cigarettes at Lesovo Border Checkpoint

Customs officers at the Lesovo border crossing checkpoint seized a total of 14,000 boxes of smuggled cigarettes, the Customs Agency said on Wednesday.

The 280,000 pieces of cigarettes were found in two trucks transporting refrigerators from Turkiye to Romania, both driven by Romanian citizens. The seized quantity is of different brands, with a Turkish excise stamp. The two drivers were issued administrative violations under the Customs Act.

Since the beginning of 2026, over 3.1 million pieces of smuggled cigarettes have been seized at the Lesovo border crossing checkpoint, the Customs Agency pointed out. In most cases, the excise tobacco products were hidden in trucks from Turkiye heading for countries of the European Union, where market prices of cigarettes are significantly higher.