Acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov and Acting Chairman of SANS Denyo Denev held a working meeting with Gary Lyle from His Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
The three of them discussed the active cooperation between the Bulgarian and the British institutions in countering the smuggling of excise goods and the activities of cross-border criminal groups.
During the talks, the good operational cooperation established over the years in preventing illegal migration, intercepting illegal channels for human trafficking and smuggling of goods was highlighted.
The key role of timely exchange of information in effectively countering the activities of criminal networks was also emphasized.
Borislav Sarafov and Denyo Denev discussed with Gary Lyle the results of the joint operation which uncovered an illegal factory for production of counterfeit cigarettes in Batanovtsi, District of Pernik. SANS, the Ministry of Interior and the Customs Agency together with the British partners participated in the operation under the guidance and supervision of the Prosecutor’s Office.
More than 990 master boxes of cigarettes were found in a truck tracked during the operation, and in the factory itself - finished products and about 13.8 tons of tobacco in boxes of 200 kg.
This is the largest illicit cigarette factory ever discovered. The excise duty payable on the seized illegal excise goods is over €2.8 million.
Sarafov, Denev and Gary Lyle expressed their commitment to continue the cooperation on the important areas for both countries to counter the various forms of cross-border crime.