Customs officers at the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing seized 63,000 smuggled cigarettes (3,150 packs) from two lorries that arrived from Turkey.
A Turkish-registered tractor unit with a semi-trailer, driven by a Turkish national, reached the crossing on 21 October. Its papers showed textiles on a route from Turkey through Bulgaria to Romania. After a risk check, officers picked the lorry for a full search. They found 1,600 packs, or 32,000 cigarettes, in the cab with no Bulgarian excise stamp.
A few days earlier, a search of another lorry carrying goods from Turkey to the Netherlands found 1,550 packs (31,000 cigarettes) with no excise stamp. They were hidden in the front wall of the semi-trailer.
Both drivers were handed citations under the Customs Act. They carried excise goods across the border without the knowledge or permission of customs officers.
Since the start of October, officers at the same crossing have seized nearly 1,200,000 smuggled cigarettes.