site.btaRecord Large Drug Seizure at Port of Burgas Worth Some USD 6.8 Mln

A nearly 170 kg cocaine haul found at the port of Burgas on Monday is worth about USD 6.8 million. The wholesale price of the drug is USD 40,000 per kilo. No one has been arrested yet, District Prosecutor Georgi Chinev told a briefing on Tuesday.

Also attending were Customs Agency Director General Petya Bankova, Stefan Bakalov, Head of the Customs Agency's Anti-Drug Unit, Supervising Prosecutor Elka Dobrikova from the Burgas District Prosecution Office, and Senior Commissioner Lachezar Momchev, Head of the Border Police Regional Directorate of Burgas.

Bankova said this was the largest seizure at the port of Burgas so far. Over 169 kilograms of the drug were found in a container-load of bananas in 150 packs stashed in a factory-made wall behind the refrigerator unit of the container. The importer is a Bulgarian company.

The container is part of a shipment from Ecuador transported by the MSC Madison II general cargo ship via Panama, Malta and Gioia Tauro (Italy). The vessel continued on its way, leaving the container in Burgas.

The Anti-Drug Unit checked several containers and found suspicions areas in three of them. Some suspicious packs were detected, after which Bulgarian officers from the border with Turkiye and from Sofia were called in to continue the inspection, Bakalov said.

Pre-trial proceedings were instituted by the Burgas District Prosecution Office. The crime carries 10 to 15 years' imprisonment and a fine between BGN 100,000 and 200,000 on conviction. 

The pre-trial proceedings are yet to find out the destination of the bananas, District Prosecutor Georgi Chinev said.