site.btaBGN 500,000-Plus-Worth Gold Seized at Border with Turkiye

Nearly 5 kg of undeclared gold bars were found by Bulgarian customs officers at the Kapitan Andreevo Border Checkpoint during an inspection of a bus with Turkish registration exiting the country on March 2, the National Customs Agency said on Tuesday.

The bus driver and all 16 passengers, travelling from Kosovo to Turkiye via Bulgaria, told customs that they had nothing to declare. The vehicle was selected for a thorough customs inspection, during which a black polyethylene bag was found hidden in a factory cavity in the rear door of the bus, containing eight bars of yellow metal. An expert examination determined that the bars were gold totaling 4,974.50 grammes, worth BGN 527,059. Further inspections determined that the gold was owned by a Kosovo citizen who was among the passengers of the bus.

A pre-trial investigation has been initiated into the case by an investigating customs inspector under the supervision of the Haskovo Regional Prosecution Office.