Customs Inspectors Find Illegal Distillery

Customs inspectors and police broke into an illegal alcohol distillery in the southern village of Katounitsa this past weekend, the Plovdiv customs authority said Monday.

During the operation in the facility which is owned by the company Eurostandard, the inspectors found 61 liquid tanks with capacity ranging between 7 and 17 cu m, an open pool for storing molasses and some 1,500 l of alcohol.

In an attempt to remove any evidence of the illegal operation, workers at the distillery were caught trying to syphon the alcohol into the sewer with hoses.

The distillery's output records show that a total of 48,839 l of alcohol were produced between October 7 and 18 alone. It means that the state was defrauded of half-million leva in unpaid excise duty only for the said period.

/BTA/