Customs and TradeNewsSmuggling

Contraband cigarettes, worth over 1.5 million euros, discovered hidden in a truck

On 21.01.2023 at the Romanian Bechet Border Crossing Point, a 51-year-old Bulgarian citizen presented himself to enter the country, driving a road vehicle. According to the documents presented, the driver was transporting personal hygiene products from Bulgaria to Romania.

After carrying out a thorough control of the means of transport, the border police discovered, hidden in the cargo compartment, behind the pallets with wet wipes (cap method), several boxes containing 384,000 packs of cigarettes, without fiscal markings applied .

The cigarettes, with a total value of over 1,500,000 euros (7,680,000 lei), as well as the truck, were seized in order to continue investigations at the ITPF Giurgiu headquarters.

In the case, investigations are being carried out against the Bulgarian citizen, under the coordination of the Public Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Craiova District Court, for violating the provisions of the Customs Code.