site.btaCustoms Officers Seize Over 2.1 Mln Contraband Cigarettes at Kapitan Andreevo Checkpoint

Customs officers have seized 2,141,600 illegal cigarettes at the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint on Bulgaria’s border with Turkiye, the National Customs Agency said in a press release on Tuesday.

The contraband was found during an inspection of a truck with a foreign registration in the early hours of June 28. The driver, a Turkish national, presented documents indicating that he was transporting furniture and textiles from Turkiye to a Western European country. However, the inspection revealed that 36 tables and other declared goods were used to conceal boxes of cigarettes. A total of 107,080 boxes, containing four foreign-labeled cigarette brands, were found. The market value of the seized tobacco products is BGN 784,600.

Pre-trial proceedings have been initiated by a customs investigator under the supervision of the Haskovo District Prosecution Office.

Last week, customs officers at the same checkpoint seized 1,498,200 contraband cigarettes worth BGN 540,469 hidden in another truck entering from Turkiye.