The dismantling of an underwater drug trafficking channel near Tsarevo, which BurgasMedia reported on in a timely manner, has revealed a new threat: the use of unmanned autonomous systems. Stefan Bakalov, Deputy Director of the Customs Agency, explained that although the technology itself is based on the "narcotorpedo" principle, which has been known in global practice for over 30 years, this is likely the first established case of its kind in our country.
According to the expert, the use of water and air drones has long been a widespread practice in global drug trafficking over the last few years. A significant transformation of the market is being observed: there is a shift from trafficking huge quantities to significantly smaller shipments, often in the range of 10–15 kilograms. In parallel with physical transportation, digital distribution channels are also actively developing.
Bulgaria continues to serve as a transit country. Key areas of criminal activity include:
- Trafficking of large quantities of marijuana toward Turkey;
- Illegal transport of precursors and cocaine through ports and land border checkpoints.
For the domestic market, there is an observed increase in the use of small shipments and e-commerce. Among the most serious threats are synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic opioids, and the newest negative trends such as fentanyl, its analogs, and the even more potent nitazenes. Stefan Bakalov noted that nitazenes and orphines are over 100 times stronger than fentanyl. Although these substances have not yet become widespread in our country, institutions are monitoring the situation, as the danger lies in the invisible mixing with other substances for the consumer. A single gram is enough to produce thousands of doses, which provides a significant incentive for traffickers.
In parallel with these methods, criminal structures are developing digital channels. For 2–3 years now, ways of trafficking using chatbots in various Telegram applications have been discussed in the media space. In these schemes, contact between individual participants in the chain is kept to a minimum, which significantly hinders the work of investigative authorities.