site.btaRecord Shipment of Marijuana Worth Over BGN 6 Mln Seized at Kapitan Andreevo Border Checkpoint

A record shipment of 377,780 kg of marijuana worth BGN 6.044 million was seized by customs officers at the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint on the Bulgarian-Turkish border.

Details about the case were given at a press conference by Haskovo District Prosecutor Ivan Stoyanov and the head of the Kapitan Andreevo customs checkpoint, Georgi Gospodinov. The drug was transported in a truck with a Turkish registration, driven by a Turkish citizen, travelling from Germany to Turkiye. 

The driver has as detained for 72 hours and brought against him, Ivan Stoyanov said. He explained that the crime is punishable by imprisonment between 15 and 20 years and a fine between BGN 200,000 and BGN 300,000. The prosecution service will demand that the suspect be remanded in custody.

Answering a journalist's question Stoyanov replied that according to initial data this is not an organised drug trafficking ring, but a single shipment. The truck entered this country from Romania. The relevant auhtoroties in Germany and Turkiye will be contacted about the case, Stoyanov specified.

Gospodinov explained that this is a record-high quantity of marijuana seized at the border checkpoint. He explained that the case was solved after a customs officer noticed a difference between the weight of the truck according to documents and the actual reading on the scale at the customs checkpoint.

Last year, a total of 275 kg of various types of drugs were seized at the checkpoint in 19 separate cases.