site.btaUPDATED Police Discover Large Marijuana-growing Greenhouse in Burgas Region

During a joint operation between police officers from Nessebar and forensic experts from Burgas, a 47-year-old man was arrested in the coastal town of Sveti Vlas for growing 355 hemp plants in specially adapted rooms, said the Burgas Regional Directorate of the Interior Ministry on Friday.

The drug greenhouse is the largest indoor facility of its kind discovered in the Burgas region in the last 10 years, according to investigators from the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Burgas and the Burgas Regional Directorate of the Interior Ministry, as announced during a briefing. Details about the case were provided by supervising prosecutor Angel Georgiev and Commissioner Ivan Malinov, Head of the Criminal Police Department at the Interior Ministry’s Burgas Regional Directorate.

The hundreds of cannabis plants discovered during the specialized police operation in Sveti Vlas were likely being cultivated for narcotic material intended for export from Bulgaria. The greenhouse had been under surveillance by criminal investigators for six months, Malinov explained. The marijuana seized is estimated to be worth over BGN 1 million.

The plants found varied from seedlings to plants of a height up to 50 cm. Quartz lamps, air humidifiers, fans and fertilizing preparations were also found and seized, as well as dried plants who are yet to be weighed.

Pre-trial proceedings have been initiated in the case.