site.bta US State Department: International Trafficking Organizations Continue to Traffic Drugs Through Bulgaria to Western Europe

US State Department: International Trafficking Organizations Continue  to Traffic Drugs Through Bulgaria to Western Europe

Washington, March 20 (BTA) - Bulgaria is strategically situated
along the Balkan Route for illicit drugs and other contraband
trafficked from Southwest Asia into Western Europe.
International drug trafficking organizations continue to traffic
 cocaine, heroin, synthetic drugs, and increasingly chemical
precursors through Bulgaria into consumer countries in Western
Europe, reads the 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy
Report of the US Department of State.

In its part about Bulgaria, the report reads that last year drug
 trafficking organizations with ties to Africa and the Middle
East continued to partner with Bulgarian organized crime
networks to transport cocaine and heroin into Europe from South
America. "Domestic production of illegal drugs continues to be
confined primarily to cannabis cultivation - which is mainly for
 local consumption - and synthetic drugs such as amphetamines,
which are manufactured in small laboratories for both personal
use and local sales," the document reads.

"An institutional restructuring of law enforcement services in
2013 led to several months of inactivity and generally slowed
investigative work. The division of duty between the Ministry of
 Interior and the State Agency for National Security remained
unclear into 2014, which further fragmented drug law enforcement
 efforts."

"The Customs Agency, under the Ministry of Finance, has
authority to investigate drug trafficking along Bulgaria's
borders. Internal restructuring within the Agency and
prioritization of taxable contraband (i.e. cigarettes) has
resulted in relatively low drug seizures in recent years, but in
 2014, successful interagency joint operations led to the
interdiction of several hundreds of kilograms of drugs,
including quantities of heroin seven times higher than what was
confiscated in 2013. Authorities also continued to seize many
new psychoactive substances, including popular synthetic
cannabinoids."

"There has not been significant research into drug addiction
within Bulgaria since 2009 when authorities estimated that the
country had approximately 30,000 regular drug users. Marijuana
is the most widely used drug, followed by synthetic drugs and
heroin. According to government statistics, while the number of
regular drug users has not fluctuated much in recent years,
poly-drug use has increased and presents a challenge for
traditional methods of treatment."

The US Department of State notes that Bulgarian law enforcement
agencies continue to collaborate closely with the US Drug
Enforcement Administration on counternarcotics issues and
investigations.