site.btaOver 6 Mln Contraband Cigarettes Seized at Kapitan Andreevo Checkpoint

During an inspection of a cargo truck on October 23, border police and customs officers found 6.158 million cigarettes (307,900 packs) without Bulgarian excise stamps, concealed inside wooden panels, the Interior Ministry reported on Saturday. The contraband tobacco products, valued at BGN 2,309,250, were seized by the authorities.

The smuggled goods were discovered in a Lithuanian-registered truck entering Bulgaria through the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint. The vehicle was driven by a 55-year-old Belarusian national holding a Lithuanian residence permit, who presented documents stating that he was transporting the panels from Turkiye through Bulgaria to Czechia, the Ministry said.