National Customs Agency

A large illegal cigarette factory was discovered in Batanovtsi during an operation by the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Bulgaria, the State Agency for National Security, the Ministry of the Interior, and the National Customs Agency involving British services.

An illegal factory for the manufacture of counterfeit cigarettes was discovered in a joint operation of the Prosecutor’s Office, the State Agency for National Security, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Customs Agency, together with British partner services. ‘This is about international smuggling, well-organised structures of a criminal group,’ said Acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov at a briefing attended by the Chairperson of the State Agency for National Security (SANS), Denyo Denev, Chief Commissioner Boyan Raev, Director of the Directorate-General for Combating Organised Crime, Georgi Dimov, Director of the National Customs Agency, and the Spokesperson of the Pernik District Prosecutor’s Office, Albena Stoilova. A briefing was given in Batanovtsi, Municipality of Batanovtsi, Pernik, where the illegal production was discovered.

It is the largest illegal cigarette factory ever discovered, larger than the one in the Haskovo village of Momkovo, which was smashed last year.

The Director of the National Customs Agency, Georgi Dimov, announced that the discovery of the factory is within no more than 3 weeks of the start of the proceedings. The excise duty due on seized illegal excise goods - cigarettes and tobacco - amounts to over EUR 2.8 million.

The Attorney General stressed that in the last two weeks, this is the second international operation, this time with the participation and assistance of partner services from the UK. Last week, a campaign was held to shut down pirated websites together with the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Justice. “This undoubtedly demonstrates the high trust of our American and British partners in all our institutions – the Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Interior, the Customs Agency, and the State Agency for National Security,” stressed Borislav Sarafov. No one who manufactures cigarettes illegally or engages in any criminal activity should expect to remain unnoticed for a long time, the Prosecutor General warned.

The chairman of SANS Denyo Denev announced that the factory worked under very strict conspiracies, and there was a tunnel dug out several hundred meters from the building. Yesterday, a truck loaded with the finished goods was tracked in the area of Kostinbrod. More than 10 million cigarettes (990 master boxes) were found in it, and in the factory were found finished products and about 13.8 tons of tobacco in boxes of 200 kg.

Chief Commissioner Boyan Raev, Director of the Directorate-General for Combating Organised Crime, added that the factory was on three levels, very well organized, with an absolutely complete production cycle. On site were found machines for tobacco processing, for the manufacture of cigarettes themselves, and for packaging, as well as machines and tools for the repair and adjustment of the assembly line. The factory also had a warehouse, a sleeping room for about 20 people, and an equipped kitchen. The workers are from Moldova. They came to Batanovtsi to work, produce, and then leave.

The pre-trial proceedings instituted are managed and under the supervision of the Pernik District Prosecutor's Office. The activity of the illegal factory was found to involve several persons, the cigarettes were intended rather for export, said the spokesperson of Pernik District Prosecutor's Office Albena Stoilova.