Over 700 000 smuggled cigarettes in thermal panels were found by customs officers at Lesovo BCP
Bulgarian customs officers at Lesovo BCP discovered 711 000 pieces (35 550 boxes) of smuggled cigarettes in insulating thermal panels transported by truck.
The truck with a foreign registration arrives at the Lesovo BCP on 29.01.2026 in the evening on an incoming route into the country from Turkey. The driver, a Turkish citizen, presented documents that he was transporting groupage goods from Turkey to Romania in transit through Bulgaria. Based on a risk analysis, a thorough customs inspection of the vehicle was carried out. During the control actions with specialized X-ray equipment, suspicious areas in the cargo were identified. During the subsequent physical inspection, customs inspectors discovered that three of the transported pallets contained declared insulating thermal panels, which were cut out and filled with cigarettes.
A total of 711 000 pieces (35 550 boxes) of cigarettes of various brands were seized. The value of the smuggled tobacco products amounts to over 100 000 euros.
A pre-trial investigation has been initiated into the case, which is being conducted by an investigating customs inspector under the supervision of the Yambol District Prosecutor’s Office.
In the last week alone, the customs officers at Lesovo BCP seized over 1 000 000 pieces of cigarettes after preventing two attempts to smuggle excise tobacco products to EU countries. In the first case, 325 000 pieces of cigarettes were found among furniture in a truck traveling from Turkey to the Netherlands.
