Bulgaria Customs Seize €800,000 in Illicit Cigarettes at Kulata Border

Customs officials and the Blagoevgrad District Prosecutor's Office have seized approximately 3.95 million illicit cigarettes hidden inside a refrigerated truck at the Kulata border crossing. The contraband, consisting of 490 masterboxes of two different brands without excise stamps, is valued at roughly €800,000.

The shipment was concealed among crates of potato chips. The truck, which bears Ukrainian registration and was driven by a Ukrainian citizen, was traveling from Greece and was reportedly destined for Ukraine. Following a risk analysis and X-ray inspection, authorities discovered 11 pallets of tobacco products hidden within the cargo.

The driver has been detained for 24 hours and faces criminal charges under Article 234, Paragraph 3 of the Penal Code for the possession of large quantities of excise goods without stamps. This incident marks the third seizure of illegal cigarettes at the Kulata region in the last two weeks, with a total of 21.6 million cigarettes intercepted in that period.