site.bta200 Kg of Heroin Seized at Bulgarian-Turkish Border

200 Kg of Heroin Seized at Bulgarian-Turkish Border

Lessovo, Bulgarian-Turkish border, July 6 (BTA) - Bulgarian customs officers seized 200 kg of heroin worth more than 18 million leva (9 million euro) at the Lessovo checkpoint on the border with Turkey, Roumyana Arnaoudova, Spokesperson for Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov, told a news briefing at the checkpoint on Wednesday. This is the largest single consignment of an illegal drug seized at the Bulgarian EU border since the country joined the bloc in 2007, Arnaoudova said.

The substance was discovered in cans of tomato paste transported on an Iranian-registered truck which entered Bulgaria from Turkey on July 5.

As Iranian goods and vehicles are considered to pose a high risk, the truck was examined with an X-ray device which revealed that the content was of varying density. The active substance in the heroin was found to exceed 58 per cent, Arnaoudova said.

The Iranian driver of the truck was taken into 72-hour custody by order of the Yambol Regional Prosecution Office.