Bulgarian customs officers at Lesovo BCP found 600 000 contraband cigarettes in furniture
Bulgarian customs officers at Lesovo BCP detained 600 000 pieces (30 000 boxes) of contraband cigarettes during an inspection of a truck entering the country. The tobacco products were hidden in wrapped furniture – mirror tables.
On 06/05/2023, at around 8:20 p.m., the truck with a foreign registration arrived at Lesovo BCP on an inbound route from Turkey, driven by a Turkish citizen. According to the presented documents, he transported parcels with group goods from Turkey to France via Bulgaria.
The vehicle has been selected for a thorough customs inspection. In the course of control actions, with specialized X-ray equipment, customs inspectors mark suspicious areas in the declared cargo. During the subsequent physical inspection, the inspectors found that part of the parcels contained 30 voluminous tables with a mirror coating, in the inner cavity of which cartons of cigarettes were hidden. After dismantling the tables, a total of 600 000 pieces (30 000 boxes) of contraband cigarettes of various brands were found in them, all with a Turkish excise label.
The contraband tobacco products worth about BGN 200 000 were seized. In this case, a pre-trial proceeding was initiated by an investigative customs inspector from TD Bourgas Customs, which is being conducted under the supervision of the Yambol District Prosecutor’s Office.
