Customs officers found 230,000 smuggled cigarettes in a truck carrying copper shavings at the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing on 6 October, the press office of the Customs Agency in Svilengrad said.
The Turkish-registered truck was entering Bulgaria from Turkey. The driver, a Turkish citizen, showed papers saying he was hauling sacks of copper shavings from Turkey through Bulgaria to Belgium.
A risk analysis led officers to pick the truck for a full check. An X-ray scan showed unusual density in the cargo area, and among the declared goods officers found cigarettes hidden in cardboard boxes.
The cigarettes were in 23 boxes holding 11,500 packs in total, of two brands, with Turkish excise stamps. They are worth €45,395. Customs officers seized them, along with the truck used in the offence.
A customs investigator opened pre-trial proceedings under the supervision of the Haskovo District Prosecutor's Office.
A few days earlier, more than 300,000 cigarettes without excise stamps were found during the international operation "Balkan Bridge II", which targets the smuggling of drugs, weapons and counterfeit goods, and the trafficking of illegal migrants.