Cigarettes Without Excise Stamps Worth 1,880,000 BGN Seized in a Warehouse in Plovdiv

Plovdiv District Prosecutor’s Office and the General Directorate for Combatting Organised Crime (GDBOP) held a joint briefing regarding an economic crime involving possession of excise goods (cigarettes without excise labels) in large quantities.

Several individuals have been detained, and charges have been pressed.

The briefing was attended by Petar Petrov, District Prosecutor of Plovdiv, Dimitar Pehlivanov, Deputy District Prosecutor, and Ivan Ivanov, Head of a Sector at GDBOP-Plovdiv.

On October 19, a truck loaded with pellets was discovered at a warehouse in the area of Skutare village. Investigators had information indicating that the cargo contained excise goods, which were being stored in the warehouse for distribution in the retail market.

Petar Petrov, District Prosecutor of Plovdiv, said: "Four individuals were involved, using a forklift to load 5,888,000 cigarettes or 294,000 packets of high-end cigarettes. The cigarettes were concealed behind 300 lawnmowers. The perpetrators left the warehouse, but were later apprehended. The value of the cigarettes is 1,880,000 BGN."

Two of the identified offenders are Bulgarian citizens, while the third is Slovak, and the fourth is Ukrainian. The cigarette packets are with English and Greek labels.

Dimitar Pehlivanov, Deputy District Prosecutor, commented: "The penalty for this crime is imprisonment from 2 to 8 years."

Petar Petrov further noted that active investigations are ongoing, with numerous interrogations being conducted to identify other individuals involved in the crime.

Chief Inspector, Ivan Ivanov, said: "They attempted to flee the scene, but we managed to apprehend them, and the individuals were detained for 24 hours."

The investigation is ongoing.