20 kg of cocaine and 26 kg of marijuana, hidden in a specially adapted cache in the tank of a truck, were seized in a joint operation by officers of the “Customs“ Agency and the Directorate General of Combating Organized Crime – Ministry of Interior. The composition - a tractor with a trailer, was traveling in transit to the Republic of Bulgaria to Turkey and was diverted for inspection at the “Lesovo“ border checkpoint.
The driver was detained - a 40-year-old Bulgarian citizen with previous criminal records.
Details about the case were announced at a briefing at the border checkpoint by the deputy director of the General Directorate “Fighting Organized Crime“ Senior Commissioner Darin Kostov, Deputy Director of the “Customs“ Agency Stefan Bakalov and Doychin Doychev, District Prosecutor of Yambol.
The vehicle was stopped on September 25, 2026 on the outbound route of the “Lesovo“ border checkpoint by the joint teams of the two institutions. During X-ray examination, an unusual density was found in the area of the external tank of the tractor.
During the thorough customs inspection, it was found that the interior of the tank was full of two types of packages. After dismantling and cutting it, the customs inspectors found 41 packages - 24 of them vacuumed packages containing green grass mass, and 17 rectangular packages, wrapped with tape, containing a white powdery substance. During the field drug test, the substances reacted to marijuana and cocaine.
The total quantity seized is 20 kg of cocaine and 26 kg of marijuana, announced the deputy director of customs Stefan Bakalov. The narcotics are worth over 2.2 million euros at court prices, he specified. They were covered with a special lead jacket in order to deceive the control authorities. They passed as transit traffic from Western Europe.
The detention was made as a result of numerous investigations by the Directorate of Drug Control of groups involved in the distribution of narcotics through the country, specified Senior Commissioner Darin Kostov. Currently, police actions on the territory of the country continue at addresses throughout the country, he added.
The detained man has already been charged with a crime under Art. 242 of the Criminal Code, which provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of up to 200,000 leva, said Yambol District Prosecutor Doychin Doychev. By a prosecutor's decree, his stay in custody has been extended to up to 72 hours, and a permanent measure will be requested.