Customs officers from TD Customs Ruse seized 479,980 pieces (23,999 packs) of cigarettes during five separate inspections of vehicles leaving the country in the Danube Bridge 2 - Vidin - Kalafat checkpoint area within ten days.

The tobacco products have a valid Bulgarian excise label, but they were transported without accompanying documents and in violation of the Law on Excises and Tax Warehouses (ZADS).

All five offenders are Bulgarian citizens. 

On 04/09/2023, around 5:00 p.m., a cargo van with Bulgarian registration, driven by a Bulgarian citizen, was selected for customs inspection on the exit route of the Danube Bridge 2 - Vidin - Kalafat border crossing.

In the course of the control actions, the customs inspectors found that among the declared goods in the cargo of the vehicle there were cartons with a total of 116,000 pieces (5,800 boxes) of cigarettes of various brands with a Bulgarian excise label.

Another 166,800 pieces (8,340 packs) of cigarettes with a Bulgarian excise label were found during a customs inspection on 04/08/2023 on a truck with a Bulgarian registration leaving the country.

The driver later stated that he was transporting the cigarettes "for friends" in the UK, and the tobacco products were arranged between boxes of sanitary ware.

During two customs inspections of two passenger cars in the Danube Bridge 2 – Vidin – Kalafat border crossing on 04/03/2023, a total of 77,180 cigarettes (3,859 boxes) and packets of 3.4 kg of smoking tobacco were found, all of them covered with Bulgarian excise parcel.

In another case at the end of March (31.03.2023), customs officers found 120,000 pieces (6,000 packs) of cigarettes of various brands during an inspection of a truck.

The driver later explained that he was transporting the cigarettes to the UK for commercial purposes.

The customs officers of MP Burgas Airport seized over 2,500 packs of cigarettes from the luggage of five passengers

Acts have been drawn up against the five drivers of the vehicles for the established administrative violations.