During a specialized operation by the Directorate of the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Supreme Cassation Prosecutor's Office in the land of the village of Momkovo, Haskovo district, the largest factory for illegal cigarette production in Bulgaria to date was discovered.
Over 100,000,000 pieces of cigarettes of various trade names were found on site. A large number of machines used to produce illegal cigarettes in underground caches were also discovered.
The head of the department at the Supreme Criminal Investigation Department, Prosecutor Iliyan Rangelov, Hristo Krastev - spokesman for the Prosecutor General, as well as Interior Minister Daniel Mitov and Director of the Directorate of the Anti-Corruption Bureau Boyan Raev provide more information on the case.
The spokesman for the Prosecutor General Hristo Krastev announced that on Wednesday a pre-trial investigation was initiated for possession of cigarettes without a stamp - at the Regional Prosecutor's Office in General Toshevo, where they were found in large quantities.
"The Directorate of the Anti-Corruption Bureau has found the hall. Under a cow farm is a workshop for the production of cigarettes, incomparable to those discovered so far. The value of the excise goods is over 30 million leva. Large quantities of packaging, paper, filters, packaging machines were found. Two people were detained in 24 hours - one of them is the owner of the building. The other is his daughter-in-law. The activities of an organized crime group are being investigated. There are individuals wanted," Krastev revealed.
According to Interior Minister Danail Mitov, this is the largest cigarette factory ever discovered in Bulgaria.
"I congratulate the director of the Directorate of the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Haskovo police. There was excellent coordination with the prosecutor's office. There are detainees. It remains to be seen who the individuals involved are. The factory has electricity generators - an autonomous system for producing electricity, as well as sleeping quarters for employees with three beds. In fact, another factory was also broken up - for fake news and manipulation by the PP-DB.
They went around saying that there was an umbrella over smuggling, from accusers they turned into defendants in the court of public opinion. I wonder how many of my hearings they will request now," Mitov commented.