Boom in seized smuggled drugs at "Danube Bridge 2" near Vidin after our entry into Schengen. Statistics show that since the beginning of the year there has been a 70% increase compared to the entire past year. Since January 1, 145 kilograms of narcotics have been seized at "Danube Bridge 2" near Vidin. This is significantly more than in 2024, when 85 kilograms were seized for the entire year, Nova TV reported.
The largest amount of seized hashish and cocaine. It is curious that some of the drivers do not try to hide the drugs because they expect that they will not be checked when crossing the Schengen border.
In early May, cocaine worth three million leva was seized in a refrigerated truck with a Turkish registration on "Danube Bridge 2" near Vidin. A month earlier, among sacks of potatoes transported in a heavy truck, customs officers again found packages of cocaine.
„In recent years, there has been a trend of changing the direction from Western Europe to Turkey and the countries of the Middle East. What is characteristic of this type of drugs is that they are not all for our market, they are not used on our market. Perhaps some of them are allocated for domestic consumption, but the main quantities are transiting through Bulgaria“, points out Ivo Poakov, head of the “Fighting Drug Trafficking“ department, TD “Customs-Ruse“.
In April, during one of the inspections of a truck in the Vidin region, nearly 92 kilograms of hashish were found hidden among carbonated drink concentrate. It turns out that this is the largest quantity that has been detained in the last 12 years in Bulgaria. Almost all drivers caught smuggling drugs are Turkish citizens.
“They are ordinary people - they are not some hardened criminals. But somehow life has squeezed them or they have taken out large loans. This is their main explanation. One of the people said that with this course he would have fixed all the loans that he had the imprudence to withdraw in the Republic of Turkey. In recent months, customs officers have noticed that drivers don't even try to hide the drugs they are transporting," Poakov claims.
Recently, 11 kilograms of cocaine were found in one of the passing trucks. The driver, a Turkish citizen, hid the drug in his personal luggage. "We use special methods and techniques for control, taking maximum care not to hinder the free movement of people and vehicles," says the head of the "Fighting Drug Trafficking" department, TD "Customs-Ruse."