Customs officers from the Ruse Customs Territorial Directorate prevented two violations related to the transportation of a total of 4,180 boxes (83,600 pieces) of cigarettes, in two separate cases within the territorial scope of the directorate.
On August 16, at around 01:05, in the area of the “New Europe“ bridge (Danube Bridge 2 Vidin – Calafat), a cargo train with a tractor and a semi-trailer, driven by a Bulgarian citizen, was stopped. According to the driver, the vehicle was loaded with food products with a final destination of Germany and the United Kingdom. The truck was directed for a thorough inspection at the Vidin Customs Bureau. During the physical inspection, after unloading part of the goods, eight boxes containing a total of 3,900 boxes (78,000 pieces) of cigarettes, covered with a Bulgarian excise stamp, were found in three of the pallets with food products. The driver stated that the cigarettes were his and were intended for his relatives in Germany. An administrative violation act was drawn up in accordance with the Excise and Tax Warehouses Act.
A day earlier, on August 15 at around 9:30 p.m., on the main road E85 in the direction of Ruse, customs officers stopped a truck with a foreign registration, traveling from Turkey to Romania, for inspection. The vehicle was escorted to the "Danube Bridge" border checkpoint, where a thorough customs inspection was carried out. In the cabin of the car, in three textile bags with the driver's personal luggage, a total of 280 boxes (5600 pieces) of cigarettes without a Bulgarian excise stamp were found, some of which were marked DUTY FREE, and another with a Turkish excise stamp. In written explanations, the driver stated that he had purchased them from Turkey for personal use. The cigarettes were seized, and a report was drawn up in the case under the Customs Act.
The “Customs“ Agency recalls that when entering Bulgaria from a third country through a land border crossing, only two boxes of cigarettes can be imported, and when traveling to another Member State, up to 40 boxes with a valid Bulgarian excise stamp can be carried.