Customs officers at the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing found 221.730 kg of marijuana in a lorry travelling from Ukraine through Romania and Bulgaria to Turkey, the regional press office of the Customs Agency in Svilengrad said.

The tractor unit with a semi-trailer and Ukrainian plates reached the checkpoint on Monday, half an hour before midnight, to leave Bulgaria. The driver declared that he was carrying softwood timber on a route from Ukraine through Romania and Bulgaria to Turkey.

Officers from the anti-drug trafficking unit picked the lorry for a check using risk analysis. An X-ray showed unusual density in the cargo area. A physical search found sacks hidden between the timber, holding clear plastic bags full of dry green plant material. A field test showed marijuana.

There are 196 packages. At the prices used by the courts, they are worth €1,813,899.

The driver is a Ukrainian citizen. Prosecutors charged him on 12 October, and the press office of the Appellate Prosecutor's Office in Plovdiv said he has been detained for 72 hours. Pre-trial proceedings have begun.

On 24 September, officers at the same checkpoint again found marijuana during a check of a lorry, this time 57.040 kg worth €466,625. A 61-year-old man was charged in that case, and on 28 September the Haskovo District Court ordered him held in custody.