Customs officers found 19 kg of cocaine and 329 kg of marijuana in a Bulgarian-registered truck at the Danube Bridge 2 border checkpoint near Vidin. The driver, a Bulgarian citizen, has been detained. Ivo Poakov, head of the anti-drug trafficking department at the Ruse Customs Directorate, and Vidin deputy district prosecutor Vladislav Vlashev gave details at a briefing.
A mobile customs patrol stopped the truck on the night of 8 October during a random check of lorries arriving from Romania. The load came from Spain and was bound for Bulgaria. Risk indicators led officers to send the truck to a customs office for a further check.
There, a customs sniffer dog found a purpose-built hiding place in the floor of the trailer. It held 19 packs with a total of 19 kg of cocaine.
In a second check, officers unloaded part of the cargo from its pallets, using special equipment and a dog. They found 329 kg of marijuana in 4 pallets of peanuts.
The driver refuses to give an explanation. A court will decide on a pre-trial measure. Officials said at the briefing that the offence carries 10 to 15 years in prison and a fine of €50,000 to €100,000.
Investigators still have to find out who the drugs were meant for and whether the companies linked to the transport are liable. Chemical and valuation expert reports will be ordered.
Ruse customs officers have seized more than 500 kg of marijuana this year. Hundreds of parcels containing vapes and gummy sweets laced with drugs were stopped in joint operations with the GDBOP, the organised crime police.
Volodya Petrov, director of the Ruse Customs Directorate, linked the results to the stepped-up compensatory measures that the Customs Agency has applied since Bulgaria joined Schengen. Petrov said their aims include fighting smuggling, customs offences and breaches of intellectual property rights.