1,110 grams of smuggled gold jewelry with a total value of BGN 122,498 were found by the customs officers of the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing. The jewelry was hidden by passengers entering the country in cars .
The checks are within the framework of general actions against smuggling with the participation of employees of the "Customs" Agency, DG "Combating Organized Crime", DG "Border Police" and National Revenue Agency.
In one of the cases, on 24.05.2024, a car with Bulgarian registration arrived at the checkpoint. Two people are traveling in the vehicle from Turkey to Bulgaria - the driver and his companion - Bulgarian citizens. The two state that they are not carrying goods to declare.
The vehicle has been selected for a thorough customs inspection. In the course of the control actions, jewelry made of yellow metal was found in the woman's handbag, under the clothes attached with an elastic belt on the abdomen, as well as in the bra.
Undeclared jewelry was also carried by the man, who was found to have hidden it in his personal bag. According to the expertise made by the expert, the discovered items are of 14 and 22-carat gold with a total weight of 963.42 grams and a value of BGN 104,798.
On the case, a pre-trial proceeding was initiated by an investigating customs inspector under the supervision of the District Prosecutor's Office – Haskovo. By decree of the prosecutor of the accused of smuggling, a man and a woman, a measure of remand was taken "cash guarantee" and “prohibition to leave the borders of the Republic of Bulgaria”.
The day before, on 23/05/2024, during an inspection of another passenger car with Bulgarian registration, gold chains, necklaces, bracelets and a medallion with a total weight of 146.60 grams were found in the personal luggage of the driver, who was traveling alone . According to the expert assessment, the detained jewelry is worth about BGN 17,700. The man was issued an act under the Customs Act.
From the "Customs" Agency remind that when transporting jewelry made of precious metals by natural persons across the state border, the monetary thresholds for goods of a non-commercial nature are applied, different from those for goods to which quantitative thresholds are applied, namely up to 300 euros or their equivalent in Bulgarian leva for passengers crossing land borders, and up to 430 euros or their equivalent in Bulgarian leva for sea and air passengers.
In cases of transporting precious metals, precious stones and products with and/or from them for commercial purposes, they fall within the mandatory scope of Regulation (EU) No. 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 to create a Customs Code of the Union, subject to declaration and submission of the relevant customs declaration, depending on the customs regime used.