Customs Foiled Another Clandestine Smuggling Operation/ Passengers Found with Concealed Cigarettes
A Bulgarian tourist bus entering Dresden's A17 motorway from the Czech Republic on August 14, 2025, became the centre of a tax evasion case after customs officers discovered a large cache of cigarettes hidden onboard.
The inspection, which involved X-ray technology, was conducted on the luggage of all passengers. However, the cigarettes were not found in the luggage of the passengers. Instead, the customs officers discovered the cigarettes in construction-related cavities and under a ventilation cover on the bus.
The total number of cigarettes found was 12,500, along with an additional 31 packs hidden in the same areas. Furthermore, eight black plastic bags containing cigarettes not belonging to any of the passengers were found in the bus's luggage compartment.
Several passengers had identical black plastic bags containing four packs of cigarettes, possibly exceeding the permitted quantities per person. None of the passengers could provide any information about the cigarettes, including brand or place of purchase.
The customs officers also seized an unpaid tax amounting to over 2,500 euros. A 49-year-old Bulgarian driver admitted to possessing the cigarettes on the bus.
In a related development, a man arrested in connection with the cigarette smuggling affair on August 14, 2025, at the Dresden main customs office was observed by a German-Polish customs patrol near the border area. He was seen loading several cartons of more than 300,000 untaxed cigarettes from a garage into his car. This man, already known to customs officers, had regularly supplied markets near the border with these illegal cigarettes.
A tax evasion case was initiated against the driver, with further investigations ongoing. The passengers, who denied leaving any luggage on the bus during the inspection, were allowed to continue their journey.
