site.btaCustoms Officers Seize Close to 40,000 Cigarettes at Border with Romania

Customs officers found over 38,000 cigarettes during an inspection in the area of the Danube Bridge 2 border crossing point  at Vidin-Calafat, the Customs Agency said on Friday.

On November 4, customs officers stopped a truck travelling from Bulgaria to the UK for inspection in the area of the Danube Bridge 2. The truck was driven by a Bulgarian citizen who presented documents that he was transporting pallets of sanitary porcelain. During an inspection of the cargo, 38,800 cigarettes (1,940 cartons) with Bulgarian excise duty were found hidden in the cargo. The driver stated that they were his and he was carrying them "for friends". He failed to produce documents for the cigarettes, the Customs Agency said.

The tobacco products have been seized and the driver has been issued a fine.

Since the beginning of the year customs officers have seized at the Danube Bridge 2 border crossing 251,493 boxes (over 4.86 million cigarettes) of smuggled cigarettes and 400 grams of smoking tobacco in 33 separate instances, according to information on the Customs Agency.