Customs thwarted another devious cigarette smuggling operation / Cigarettes secretly handed out to travelers
A Bulgarian tourist bus, which entered the A17 motorway from the Czech Republic in Dresden on August 14, 2025, found itself under the scrutiny of customs officers. During the inspection, an unusual discovery was made.
The bus was diverted to a control hall where the luggage of all passengers was inspected using X-ray technology. To the surprise of the customs officers, they found an additional 31 packs of cigarettes hidden under a ventilation cover above the seats.
Intriguingly, the cigarettes were not found in the luggage of any of the passengers. Some passengers had identical black foil bags, each containing four packs of cigarettes, which could correspond to the permitted quantities per person. However, the customs officers found a further eight black foil bags in the luggage compartment of the bus, each containing four packs of cigarettes that did not belong to any of the passengers.
The customs officers in Dresden had previously encountered the same bus in May 2025, when its driver attempted to smuggle over 30,000 cigarettes. This time, a 49-year-old Bulgarian driver confessed to having 12,500 cigarettes on the bus.
No further information about the brand or the place of purchase of the cigarettes was provided by the passengers. All passengers denied leaving any luggage on the bus during the inspection. The search results do not provide information about a specific person who was involved with smuggling around 12,500 cigarettes on August 14, 2025, leading to a tax evasion procedure initiated by the Main Customs Office Dresden.
During the further inspection, the customs officers used an endoscope to examine construction-related cavities in the vehicle. The cigarettes were secured by the customs officers, and the evaded tax amounting to over 2,500 euros was seized on the spot.
No additional passengers were involved in the smuggling of cigarettes. The investigation is ongoing to determine the source and the intended destination of the smuggled cigarettes.
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