site.bta236 Kg Marijuana and 8 Kg Cocaine Seized in One-Week Special Customs Operation in Bulgaria

Bulgarian customs officers seized 235.82 kg of marijuana in three cases of attempted smuggling and 8.08 kg of cocaine in another three cases during a one-week special customs operation to suppress trafficking in illicit drugs and drug precursors through the country’s border crossings, the Customs Agency reported on Friday.

During the operation, customs officer teams exercised enhanced control at five crossings on external EU borders and four crossings on internal borders.

The single biggest haul in terms of volume was 233 kg of marijuana discovered in 200 vacuum sealed bags in a special secret compartment built in a truck which was going through the Kulata checkpoint at Bulgaria’s border with Greece. In this case, the Customs Agency Department for Combating Drug Trafficking worked together with the Interior Ministry’s General Directorate Combating Organized Crime.

The cocaine was being transported in trucks travelling from Western Europe to Turkiye.

During the reporting week, while working to prevent and detect violations of Bulgarian customs, currency and excise duty regulations, customs officers also impounded 958,000 undeclared cigarettes, the equivalent of BGN 300,000 in cash, 1,620 kg of Freon R4041, and counterfeit goods, among other smuggled items.