site.btaCustoms Officers Find 13+ kg of Cocaine Worth BGN 4.16 Million at Kapitan Andreevo

Customs and police officers at the border crossing point Kapitan Andreevo found and detained during a joint inspection 13.230 kilograms of cocaine worth BGN 4,159,512, the regional press centre of the Customs Agency in Svilengrad said Monday.

A Turkish citizen, M. D. (45), was detained on the case, the Prosecutor's Office in Plovdiv added.

The case dates back to November 15, when a tractor-trailer with Turkish registration arrived at the checkpoint with goods from Romania via Bulgaria to Turkiye. Under the risk analysis method, the vehicle was selected for a thorough customs inspection, including X-ray equipment, which noted unusual densities in the cargo hold.

On subsequent physical inspection, nine packages of a white powdery substance were found in a factory cavity in the floor of the semi-trailer. A field drug test identified the substance as cocaine.

Pre-trial proceedings were initiated in the case. By order of the supervising prosecutor, the driver of the truck M. D. was detained for up to 72 hours.

The check was carried out within the framework of the joint operation to counter smuggling, with the participation of teams from the Customs Agency, Border Police, the General Directorate Combating Organized Crime and the National Revenue Agency.

The previous case of cocaine smuggling through the checkpoint was on October 29, again in a Turkish HGV. The drugs found weighed 3.4 kilograms and were worth BGN 1,078,392.