Bulgarian customs seize cocaine worth more than 1 million BGN

Bulgarian Customs Agency

A shipment of cocaine worth more than one million BGN was seized during an inspection of a truck at Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint, the press office of the Svilengrad unit of the Customs Agency said.

The drug was detected on 29 October in a cargo composition of a towing vehicle and semi-trailer with Turkish registration, driven by a Turkish citizen. The vehicle, which was travelling on a route from Germany via Bulgaria to Turkey with groupage goods, was selected for inspection based on the "risk analysis" method. The search led to a hard-to-reach cavity in the driver's cab. Three packages containing a white powdery substance were found there. A field drug test reacted to cocaine.

The total gross weight of the drug found was 3.4 kg. According to estimates, its market value is 1,078,392 BGN, the customs press office added.

They specified that pre-trial proceedings had been initiated in the case by a customs investigator under the supervision of the Haskovo District Prosecutor's Office, and the 36-year-old driver of the truck had been detained for up to 72 hours by order of the supervising prosecutor. The District Prosecutor's Office - Haskovo is to submit a request to the court for a detention order.