Border Police Arrest Two Phone Fraudsters Attempting to Cross into Romania

Border Police officers intercepted two suspects attempting to cross into Romania via the Danube Bridge near Ruse.

The first, a 39-year-old man travelling on a bus from Sofia, appeared visibly intoxicated. During the inspection, he first claimed he was visiting a friend, then admitted he was carrying money in an envelope for an unknown man in Bucharest. He said he had been hired via a Facebook job ad for courier work by a stranger who instructed him to pick up documents from a specific address.

He was promised €350 for completing the task. Officers located the victim, a 79-year-old woman from Sofia, who had been scammed under this scheme and handed over BGN 4,800 and €350.

Later the same day, police detained another suspect. During a check of a taxi bound for Giurgiu, officers became suspicious of a 43-year-old passenger.

In his jacket, border police found an envelope containing €23,000 and BGN 550. He admitted that he had been instructed by phone to collect the money, which had been left by a man from a town in southern Bulgaria at the entrance of a residential building, and transport it to Romania.