site.btaVarna Customs Seizes Nearly 50 kg of Marijuana in Solar Panels

Customs officers from the Anti-Drug Trafficking Department at the Customs Agency in Varna discovered nearly 50 kilograms of marijuana in solar panels shipped in a container by sea, the Varna Customs Territorial Directorate said on Wednesday.

The container carried cargo by more than one sender and arrived at the Varna West Customs Post from the port of Montreal, Canada. Customs officers from the Anti-Drug Trafficking Department picked it for a thorough customs inspection, after a risk analysis was conducted.

As they were checking 18 used solar panels, the inspectors discovered that 12 of the panels were glued together in pairs and that packages containing dry green grass-like stuff were hidden in the openings formed. A field drug test showed that the substance in the packages reacted to marijuana. A total of 105 vacuum-sealed packages containing 49.271 kg of marijuana were found.

A pre-trial investigation, conducted by an investigating customs inspector under the supervision of the Varna District Prosecutor's Office, has been initiated.

According to official pricing used for legal proceedings, the value of the seized marijuana amounts to BGN 985,000 (EUR 503,622.5). The investigation into the case is ongoing, the statement said.