Customs officers stopped a refrigerated lorry near Kulata overnight and found 490 master boxes of cigarettes without tax stamps, the Customs Agency said. The cigarettes are worth about €800,000.

The lorry's declared load was crisps. The cigarettes were hidden in the refrigerated compartment.

The driver, a Ukrainian citizen, has been detained for up to 24 hours.

Early information suggests the lorry was probably travelling from Greece to Ukraine. The operation was carried out jointly with the District Prosecutor's Office in Blagoevgrad.

The lorry will be inspected and the cigarettes seized. The driver will face charges under Article 234, paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code, which covers possessing large amounts of excise goods without tax stamps.