site.bta808 Vape Devices with Narcotic Substances Seized in December

In December 2024, 734 capsules and 808 vape devices containing hexahydrocannabinol and tetrahydrocannabinol were seized, according to data from an interdepartamental unit between the Prosecutor's Office and the Interior Ministry in support of investigations of drug-related crimes and illegal migration.

Another 3,280 capsules and 909 devices are to be examined. 

Some 739 people have also been detained for crimes related to the production, processing, possession and distribution of narcotics. Pre-trial proceedings for this type of crime totalled 423, and specialized police operations totalled 499.

In one of the raids, six packages of a powdery substance, initially cocaine, weighing about 73 kg, were found in the hold of a motor vessel arriving from Spain. In the course of another operation on the territory of Sofia, a car search yielded 10 bags of marijuana weighing about 10 kg were found and seized, the driver having initially presented a false identity document.

Some 432 operations were carried out in order to counter illegal migration and 104 third-country nationals illegally residing in Bulgaria were detained, most of them in Sofia. Fifty-eight pre-trial proceedings for illegal human trafficking and illegal migration were opened.

In December 2024, 335 court rulings were issued and took effect for drug-related crimes and 100 court rulings for human trafficking and assisting illegal migrants.

The interdepartamental unit was set up by a joint order between the Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Interior in August 2023 to support investigations into specific types of crime. One of its main activities is to monitor pre-trial proceedings.