A large-scale cigarette smuggling operation was uncovered on a ship docked at one of Burgas' ports.
This was revealed at a briefing by Zlatomir Kanev, Deputy Director of the General Directorate "Border Police"-Burgas, Manuel Manev, Deputy District Prosecutor of Burgas, and Stefan Klichanov, Head of the "Fight against Drug Trafficking-Burgas Port" sector at the Territorial Directorate of Customs-Burgas.
On April 27, the ferry "Druzhba" docked at the port, which was making a voyage from the city of Batumi to Burgas. A TIR truck was also transported on the ferry, which, according to documents, was carrying mattresses. They were loaded in Georgia.
The cargo truck was selected for inspection. It was found that cigarettes were hidden inside all the rolls. They were wrapped in insulation foil. The detected cigarettes are 3.6 million pieces - 180 thousand boxes. They are of different commercial brands with a foreign excise stamp.
Over 25 million more cigarettes were seized by customs officers during the first quarter of 2026.
Their value is in the order of 750,000 euros. The boxes were covered with a Belarusian excise stamp. The cigarettes were very well factory packed and sealed. A Georgian citizen has been detained and is to be charged. He carried out the transportation of the smuggled cigarettes. The man has no prior convictions.
A similar quantity of cigarettes was last seized in 2021 - again on the ferry "Druzhba".