Romanian customs officers seized more than one million cigarettes from Moldova / The smuggled goods are worth more than 3.5 million lei

Customs inspectors in Ilfov County foiled an attempted smuggling operation involving more than one million cigarettes from the Republic of Moldova on September 14. The goods, worth a total of 930,850 lei, equivalent to more than 3.5 million Moldovan lei, were hidden in two semi-trailers.

According to the Romanian Customs Authority, the first vehicle was identified while several people were moving cigarettes from the semi-trailer into a van. During the inspection, officers discovered a specially constructed compartment in the floor containing 535,000 cigarettes bearing excise stamps from the Republic of Moldova.

As part of the same operation, a second vehicle was inspected. It had a similarly constructed hiding place and contained the same quantity of cigarettes. In total, 1.07 million cigarettes were seized, equivalent to 53,500 packs.

The goods, vehicles, and people involved were handed over to law enforcement authorities. A criminal case was opened in connection with the equivalent offense of smuggling.