site.btaCustoms Inspectors Seize Nearly 274,000 Undeclared Cigarettes

Customs officers at New Europe Bridge have intercepted 13,698 packs of undeclared cigarettes containing a total of 273,760 cigarettes from two separate smuggling attempts, the National Customs Agency reported in a press release on Wednesday.

On May 25, customs officers pulled over a truck travelling from Bulgaria to Germany. They found 28,760 cigarettes or 1,438 packs concealed in pallets of soft drinks. The tobacco products were revealed after scanning with a mobile X-ray system. The undeclared goods were impounded. The driver was issued a statement on an administrative violation.

The following day, customs officers pulled over a truck travelling from Bulgaria to Belgium and the Netherlands. The truck was then scanned with an X-ray, which established atypical densities. The officers then found 245,000 cigarettes or 12,260 packs concealed in packets of biscuits.

Since the start of the year, the customs officers have stopped 20 smuggling attempts resulting in 1,492,720 cigarettes seized.