site.btaCustoms Officers Seize Six Pistols, 96 Rounds of Ammunition Found on Truck Driver at Lesovo Border Checkpoint

Customs officers at the Lesovo checkpoint on the Bulgarian-Turkish border have seized six combat pistols and 96 rounds of ammunition during an inspection of a truck, the National Customs Agency said on Thursday. The pistols, fully loaded, were strapped to the waistband of the driver, a Turkish national.

On Tuesday, customs officers stopped the truck with foreign plates as it entered Bulgaria from Turkiye. The driver provided documents indicating that he was transporting textiles from Turkiye to Belgium and the United Kingdom. During the inspection, the officers discovered the pistols and ammunition wrapped in stretch film and concealed in pockets sewn into the driver's elastic waistband. Six breechblocks for the pistols were also found, also wrapped in stretch film.

Pre-trial proceedings have been initiated, and the Turkish national has been detained for up to 72 hours. The crime is punishable under Article 242, paragraph "d" of the Criminal Code, which states that “Anyone who carries goods across the border of Bulgaria without the knowledge and permission of the customs, where the act is committed by carrying across highly effective or poisonous substances, explosives, arms or ammunition for firearms, pyrotechnic articles, radioactive substances, nuclear equipment or other sources of ionising radiation, components or precursors for the aforementioned, as determined in a law or an instrument of the Council of Ministers, shall be punished for qualified contraband by imprisonment from three to ten years and by a fine from BGN 20,000 to 100,000”.