Bulgarian Customs officers seized nearly 40,000 pieces of smuggled cigarettes in a passenger car

Nearly 40,000 pieces of smuggled cigarettes seized customs officers at Kapitan Andreevo BCP during an inspection of a passenger car entering the country from Turkey.

On 11.06.2026, at around 22:00, a passenger car with Bulgarian registration arrived at the checkpoint. The driver, a Bulgarian citizen, who was traveling alone from Turkey to Bulgaria, stated that he had nothing to declare. After a risk analysis, customs officers selected the vehicle for a thorough customs inspection. During the control actions, boxes of cigarettes were found in the factory cavities, on the floor under the carpet. The total number of tobacco products discovered was 1984 boxes (39,680 pieces) of cigarettes, all without a Bulgarian excise stamp.

The cigarettes were seized. The driver was charged under the Customs Act for transporting excise goods across the state border without the knowledge and permission of the customs authorities.
In the first 12 days of June alone, customs officers at the Kapitan Andreevo BCP seized nearly 500,000 pieces of illegal cigarettes.