site.btaCocaine worth USD 7 Mln Found on Ship at Burgas Port, Crew Detained

Cocaine worth USD 7 million was found on a ship at the Burgas port, the Ministry of Interior said. The ship, with a capacity of 15 thousand metric tonnes, arrived from Peru with a crew of 11 people. The crew was detained.

The ship was loaded with copper concentrate, intended for processing in a metal products manufacturing plant. So far, 190 kg of a white powdery substance have been found, which tested poitive for cocaine in field drug tests. The investigation is still ongoing.

The Interior Ministry noted that instead of the previously known method of concealment, which invloves separate hiding places in containers, a new method was used. The cocaine was scattered in various places along the pipeline system of the entire vessel, with the equipment being located in the engine room.

BTA recalls that in another case on November 18, inspectors of the Customs Agency and police officers of the Haskovo Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior discovered cocaine worth BGN 4,159,512 during a joint inspection of a truck leaving the country through the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint.