site.bta6 Million Illegal Cigarettes Intercepted at Nikopol Ferry Terminal

Customs inspectors at the Nikopol border checkpoint on the Danube River intercepted 6 million cigarettes without Bulgarian excise revenue stamps on the packs, the Customs Agency reported on Wednesday. The 300,000 packs were found in an outbound truck at the ferry terminal on August 10.

The vehicle was travelling from Bulgaria to Czechia. The Bulgarian driver presented a bill of lading showing that the cargo had been loaded in Bulgaria. The inspectors told the driver to submit the vehicle to a thorough customs check. They found that the truck was carrying cigarettes of a well-known brand without valid Bulgarian excise revenue stamps, with the inscription "DUTY FREE" printed on the packaging.

The cigarettes were impounded and pretrial proceedings were instituted.

The legal violation was uncovered in a joint anti-smuggling operation by the Customs Agency, the Directorate General for Combating Organized Crime, the Directorate General of Border Police and the National Revenue Agency.