Police in Ruen stopped a 45-year-old local driver with 1.49 promille of alcohol in his blood in the village of Tranak overnight, the Interior Ministry's Burgas regional directorate said. Fast-track proceedings have been opened against the man.
Officers stopped a Burgas-registered Volkswagen Passat in the village at about 1:15am. The driver was a Tranak resident. An alcohol test showed 1.49 promille.
The man has been detained for up to 24 hours. Fast-track proceedings mean an investigation with shorter legal deadlines, if the legal conditions are met.
Driving with more than 1.2 promille is a crime under the Criminal Code, even if the driver did not cause a crash. Article 343b, paragraph 1 sets a penalty of one to three years in prison and a fine of €1,000 to €2,556 (5,000 leva) when the alcohol level was established by the proper procedure.
The court will decide the sentence based on the circumstances of the case.
This is not an isolated case in the Ruen area. In June 2021, a 41-year-old man with 1.91 promille was stopped in Tranak and refused to give a blood sample. In May 2026, a 38-year-old driver caused a crash in the neighbouring village of Sokolets. Police found 3.34 promille, and the crash damaged a parked car.