A 51-year-old lorry driver from Plovdiv will stay in custody after customs officers found 497.9 kg of marijuana in his truck at the Kulata border checkpoint. The Blagoevgrad District Court granted the prosecutors' request, said Irina Asparuhova, spokeswoman for the District Prosecutor's Office.

The check was on 10 November. Customs officers and prosecutors announced the find at a briefing two days later.

How it all started: Customs officers find 497.9kg of cannabis in refrigerated truck at Kulata

Officers from the anti-drug trafficking unit of the Sofia Customs Directorate decided to check a tractor unit with a refrigerated trailer and Bulgarian plates. According to the papers, the driver was carrying sausages and peppers from Spain to buyers in Bulgaria.

An X-ray showed a partition wall inside the refrigerated trailer. Behind it, officers found 22 boxes of marijuana, nearly half a tonne in all.

The man has been charged in a pre-trial investigation. A prosecutor first ordered him held for up to 72 hours, then the court ordered him kept in custody.

The ruling can be appealed to a higher court.