Hidden in Spare Tyres and Upholstery: Customs Officers Seize 40,000 Smuggled Cigarettes at Lesovo Checkpoint

Customs officers at Lesovo border checkpoint have uncovered smuggled cigarettes concealed in spare tyres, under seat upholstery and in the roof lining during inspections of a lorry and a car entering Bulgaria from Turkey, the Customs Agency said on September 16.

In one of the cases, on 14 September 2026, shortly after midnight, a Turkish-registered lorry arrived at the checkpoint. The driver, a Turkish national, presented documents for a consignment of groupage cargo being transported from Turkey to Germany. Following a risk assessment, the vehicle was selected for a thorough customs inspection, including an X-ray scan, which showed unusual densities in both spare tyres. During the subsequent physical inspection, after the wheels were removed from the tyres, officers found 25,600 cigarettes (1,280 packs) bearing Turkish excise stamps.

A day earlier, during another inspection, officers found cigarettes concealed beneath the seat upholstery and roof lining of a Romanian-registered car. A total of 14,400 cigarettes (720 packs) of five different brands bearing foreign excise stamps were removed from the hiding places. The inspection established that the tobacco products belonged to the driver, a Romanian national who was travelling with three fellow Romanian citizens from Turkey to Romania.

The smuggled excise goods have been seized.

The two drivers were issued administrative violation notices under the Customs Act for transporting excise goods across the state border without the knowledge and authorisation of the customs authorities.

The Customs Agency reports that during the past three months – June, July and August – customs officers at the Lesovo border checkpoint seized more than 4 million cigarettes.