The customs office in Burgas destroyed over 14 million cigarettes and 486 kg of smoking tobacco by burning, the Customs Agency announced.

The goods were discovered during customs checks at the "Kapitan Andreevo", "Lesovo" and "Malko Tarnovo" checkpoints during last year and this year.

During the last procedure, carried out on December 16th and 17th of this year, nearly five million cigarettes and 127 kg of smoking tobacco were destroyed. They were found in vehicles, hidden among the declared cargo or personal luggage, as well as in factory cavities and specially built hiding places. The products did not bear a Bulgarian excise stamp, and an attempt was made to import them illegally across the state border from Turkey.

Customs authorities continue to carry out intensive checks to prevent the illegal trafficking of excise goods and to guarantee compliance with the legal requirements in Bulgaria, the customs agency added.

BTA recalls that at the beginning of this month, at the "Kapitan Andreevo" customs checkpoint, 166,800 cigarettes (8340 packs) of contraband cigarettes were seized during checks. In one of the cases, on December 8, 93,400 cigarettes were found in a truck with Turkish registration, carrying furniture. In the other case, on December 12, customs officers found 73,400 cigarettes in a minibus entering the country from Turkey.