Bulgarian authorities have destroyed 1.74 million illicit cigarettes and 22.26 tons of bulk tobacco with a total weight exceeding 24 tons, the National Customs Agency (NCA) said in a statement on Thursday, reports Xinhua. 

The illegal goods were first crushed in a mechanical mill and then burned, the statement said.

They were seized in the areas of Ruse, Razgrad, Silistra, Svishtov and Vidin along the Danube River in 2017 and 2018, it said.

Under Bulgarian law, seized tobacco products are subject to destruction after the completion of administrative or criminal proceedings, the NCA said.

Bulgarian authorities have destroyed 1.74 million illicit cigarettes and 22.26 tons of bulk tobacco with a total weight exceeding 24 tons, the National Customs Agency (NCA) said in a statement on Thursday.

The illegal goods were first crushed in a mechanical mill and then burned, the statement said.

They were seized in the areas of Ruse, Razgrad, Silistra, Svishtov and Vidin along the Danube River in 2017 and 2018, it said.

Under Bulgarian law, seized tobacco products are subject to destruction after the completion of administrative or criminal proceedings, the NCA said.