site.btaPolice Find Over 10,000 Bottles of Laughing Gas near Sofia

Over 10,000 bottles containing nitrous oxide (laughing gas) with a total worth of over BGN 600,000 were found in a warehouse near the village of Chepintsi, Yordan Peshev, head of the Economic Police at the Sofia Directorate of Internal Affairs, told journalists on Friday.

He pointed out that a specialized operation was launched on Thursday to combat the spread of narcotics after police officers had identified a truck driver transporting laughing gas.

The driver, a 21-year-old man, has been detained while the case is being investigated.

The Regional Directorate of Food Safety indicated that food products were also stored in the same warehouse. "Nitrogen dioxide can be a food additive," Dr Valentin Vassilev from the Regional Directorate told journalists.