site.btaBulgarian, Austrian, Spanish Police Intercept Drug Trafficking Ring

Bulgaria's General Directorate Combating Organized Crime, together with Austrian and Spanish police, intercepted a drug trafficking ring, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

On March 8, near the Austrian town of Tirol, a Bulgarian truck unit with a semi-trailer, driven by a Bulgarian citizen, was inspected. A secret compartment was found in the floor of the semi-trailer where 110 envelopes containing 119 kilograms of cannabis were hidden. The driver was arrested. Subsequently, police in Spain discovered a second semi-trailer with a secret compartment installed. According to initial reports, it had also been used for smuggling drugs. Two men, aged 41 and 69, were detained.

The raid continued March 9 in Svishtov (northcentral Bulgaria), where six addresses were searched. Seized were accounting and company documents, a large amount of money, different means of communication and laptop computers, illegally possessed ammunition for hunting and combat weapons.

Work on the case continues.

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 on March 7. The drug was transported in a truck with a Turkish registration, driven by a Turkish citizen, travelling from Germany to Turkiye.