site.bta82 kg Marijuana Seizure at Danube Bridge Could Bring 15 to 20 Years' Imprisonment for Van Driver

Customs officers seized 82.3 kg of marijuana worth more than BGN 1.3 million in the area of the Danube Bridge at Ruse, the Customs Agency reported on Thursday.

The offence was detected on December 17 at around 23:30 hrs after a van driven by a 50-year-old Bulgarian crossed the bridge from Romania into Bulgaria. Customs officers conducted an initial check of the van, which they had picked at random, and then the vehicle was redirected to the specialized facilities of the Ruse Customs Directorate for a thorough examination. The marijuana was found hidden in four panels forming part of an air conditioning and heating system. The drug was expertly packaged in 73 packets, distributed across the four metal panels. Thanks to the effective work of the Ruse customs staff, the drug was located and confiscated.

The Ruse Regional Prosecutor’s Office (RRPO) charged the driver with transporting high-risk narcotic substances across the national border in particularly large quantities. The prescribed punishment for this offence is 15 to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to BGN 300,000.

The suspect has been detained for 72 hours. On December 19, the RRPO will ask for indefinite detention of the man. He has a police record for past crimes and has been convicted 16 times for various offences. The investigation continues under the RRPO's supervision.

The inspection of the van was carried out according to compensatory security rules after the removal of border controls at the Bulgarian-Romanian border as the two countries became full members of the Schengen free travel area on January 1, 2025, the Customs Agency said.