Customs officials seized 2 574 200 pieces (128 710 cartons) of illegal cigarettes in two separate inspections of vehicles entering the country from Turkey.
The larger quantity of illegal cigarettes was detected on 01.03.2024 during an inspection of a lorry with a foreign registration. The driver, a Belarusian citizen, declared that he was transporting heating pellets from Turkey via Bulgaria to the Czech Republic. The vehicle was selected for a thorough customs inspection, including an X-ray, which revealed suspicious densities in the cargo. In the course of the control actions, it was found that boxes and cartons of cigarettes were concealed among the bags of pellets. A total of 2 323 000 pieces of cigarettes (116 150 boxes) of different brands with Belarusian excise duty band were found. Excise goods worth BGN 871 125 were seized.
The other case was from 03.03.2024 , when a cargo van with foreign registration, driven by a Turkish citizen, arrived at the checkpoint carrying a group of goods from Turkey to Germany and France. During the customs inspection, 251 200 pieces (12 560 cartons) of cigarettes were found in the cavities of 13 upholstered bedroom panels. The tobacco products were of different brands, all with foreign excise duty bands, worth 84 915 leva.
Pre-trial proceedings have been initiated in the cases by customs investigators under the supervision of the Haskovo District Prosecutor’s Office.
Source: Customs Agency
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