Bulgarian customs officials busted an illegal distillery and nearly three tonnes of illegal alcohol in the Saint George monastery in the Black Sea town of Pomorie on Wednesday.

The distillery was busted after a customs official purchased a 0.7-litre bottle of alcohol not bearing Bulgarian excise stamp.

During the follow-up check, customs official uncovered a room in the monastery fitted for trade with liquor, 281 bottles with distilled Pomorie-made matured rakia as well as 2450 litres of alcohol and two unregistered distilling vessels.

The investigating customs inspector in Burgas and the prosecutor's office have been informed of the illegal distillery.

The investigation will establish whether the rakia was illegally produced and sold to visitors to the monastery or also supplied to restaurants along the southern Black Sea coast.