Customs officers found 685 fake euro banknotes sewn into the lining of a jacket belonging to a 19-year-old passenger from North Macedonia at the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing on 19 October, the Customs Agency said.
Haskovo regional prosecutors charged the young man under Article 244, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code. The prosecutor in charge of the case ordered him held for up to 72 hours, and prosecutors will ask the court to keep him in custody.
He was travelling from Turkey to North Macedonia as a passenger in a foreign-registered car. At the border, customs officers diverted the car and its passengers for a thorough check. The banknotes turned up when the young man was searched.
The haul was 300 notes of 200 euros and 385 notes of 100 euros. Officers seized the fakes. They found nothing wrong with the car or the driver.
An investigating police officer from the Svilengrad border police department is leading the pre-trial investigation, under the supervision of Haskovo regional prosecutors.
Prosecutors will ask the court to order pre-trial detention.