The National Customs Agency: 25 million cigarettes detained in Operation Prometheus

Nearly 25 million pieces of illegal cigarettes were seized by customs officers over the course of a day in Operation Prometheus. The cigarettes were found during an inspection of four trucks – two at Lesovo Customs Point and two in the Kulata border crossing area.

The trucks were selected and checked within two days, said Stefan Bakalov – Deputy Director General of the National Customs Agency.

These are the largest detentions of illegal cigarettes both at Lesovo CP and at Kulata for recent years, he specified and added that for the first time a method of trafficking of cigarettes similar to the one used in drugs has been established, i.e. after one large shipment a second one is moving. Bakalov emphasized the good interaction with the prosecution authorities.

The driver of the first truck at a border crossing, Kulata, is under arrest and has been charged with holding excise goods without a stamp, said Elitsa Kalpachka – administrative head – regional prosecutor of the District Prosecutor’s Office – Blagoevgrad. She added that the second case from the border crossing area Kulata is still being worked on and data will be announced at a later stage.

Customs officers from the territorial directorates in Burgas, Sofia, the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate and the Drug Enforcement Departments took part in the specialized customs operation.

According to preliminary data, the value of cigarettes at prices in Bulgaria is over 5 million euros.

On 06.10.2026, around 21:15, in the area of the border crossing Kulata, in the direction of the Hellenic Republic to the Republic of Bulgaria, on the principle of “risk analysis”, customs officers selected a cargo composition with Polish registration, managed by a Polish citizen, with the destination in the European Union. According to the documents provided, the goods transported are vertical enamel stoves.

X-ray control was performed on the cargo, and during the analysis of the image, doubts arose about the transported goods. The truck was directed for additional physical inspection.

During the thorough customs inspection, the customs inspectors found that each carton with an image of a stove contained a metal box filled with cigarettes. The cigarettes are from three different brands, some without a tax stamp and others with the inscription Duty Free.

The total amount of illegal cigarettes found was 8 999 160 cigarettes or 449 958 boxes with an indicative value of EUR 1 789 852.80.

In the case, pre-trial proceedings were initiated on the inventory of the Sofia Customs Territorial Directorate for a criminal offence under Article 234(3)(3) in conjunction with Article 234(1) of the Criminal Code, monitored by the Petrich Territorial Department of the Blagoevgrad District Prosecutor’s Office.

Subsequently, another large quantity of cigarettes was detained following a further check of another truck, based on a risk profile carried out again in the Kulata border crossing area. Work on the case is ongoing.

In the same operation “Prometheus”, customs officers at the Lesovo Customs Point seized a record quantity of 6,028,000 pieces (301,400 boxes) of smuggled cigarettes at the customs point during two separate checks on trucks transporting goods from Türkiye to Romania. The value of undeclared tobacco products amounts to over EUR 1.2 million.

The two vehicles with Turkish registration arrived at Lesovo Motorway in the early hours of 06.10.2026 on an incoming route in the country. On the basis of a risk analysis, they were selected for thorough customs checks.

The driver of the first truck, a Turkish citizen, declared that he was transiting through Bulgaria a groupage of goods from plastic boxes for electric boards, aluminum and technical products from Türkiye to Romania. In the course of an inspection with specialized X-ray equipment, areas of suspicious density were identified in the cargo. A physical inspection was carried out, during which customs inspectors found cartons of cigarettes hidden in the inner part of the pallets with declared electrical panels. There were 2,850,000 pieces (142,500 boxes), concealed cigarettes of various brands.

The driver of the second truck, also a Turkish citizen, declared that he was transporting groupage goods, including various bathroom accessories from Turkey to Romania. During the X-ray inspection of the cargo, customs officers identified suspicious areas, and during the subsequent physical inspection they found 3,178,000 pieces (158,900 boxes) of cigarettes similarly concealed in the inner part of pallets with sink siphons.

The seized smuggled cigarettes in the two trucks stopped at Lesovo Customs Point are a total of 6,028,000 pieces (301,400 boxes) of different brands, with a Turkish excise stamp, with a total value of over EUR 1.2 million. Two pre-trial proceedings have been initiated on the inventory of the Burgas Territorial Customs Directorate, which are being conducted by an investigating customs inspector under the supervision of the Yambol Regional Prosecutor’s Office.