The group that carries out this illegal activity has been in our field of vision for several months, the goal was to reach higher hierarchical levels, which was achieved during the specialized operation - said today at a briefing to journalists the director of the General Directorate of the "Border Police" Anton Zlatanov, reported by the "Focus" Agency.
The factory worked with great conspiracies, in phases of cyclicity. Over a certain period of time, workers, probably from abroad, came here to carry out the activity. The finished product was intended for Western and Central Europe through the internal Schengen border. The operation was carried out by the Directorate "Countering Smuggling" at the General Directorate of Border Police after months of careful work and precise decisions, pointed out Chief Commissioner Zlatanov.
On April 2, 2026, employees of the General Directorate "Border Police" conducted a specialized police operation in the city of Dupnitsa and in the Sofia region. On the territory of Dupnitsa, border police officers discovered a modern illegal factory for the production of cigarettes without excise stamps.
A tobacco processing workshop, a cigarette production line, packaging machines, a dryer, a filler, a diesel generator, a large amount of fuel without excise stamps and large amounts of consumables for cigarette production / cartons with the logo of a famous brand, cigarette paper, filters/ were found in the premises.
All walls are soundproofed, and the windows are covered with cork boards. The base for the workers has separate sleeping areas and service rooms.
The officers of the Border Police Department found 471 master boxes of cigarettes without excise stamps and about 11 tons of cut tobacco without paid excise taxes in the illegal factory. Two men were detained on site – A 53-year-old man from Sofia and a 56-year-old man from Mezdra, the main participants in the illegal activity, were found guilty. During the operation, they were loading finished products onto a minibus.
In the Sofia village of Krivina, in a truck connected to one of those detained in Dupnitsa, border police officers found another 180 master boxes of cigarettes without excise stamps.
Under the leadership of the Kyusendil District Prosecutor's Office, pre-trial proceedings are being conducted and procedural and investigative actions are currently underway. Charges have been filed against the two, who have been detained for 72 hours. The prosecutor's office will request the most severe measure of detention - detention in custody, said Albena Razsolkova, district prosecutor - administrative head of the Kyusendil District Prosecutor's Office.