Cocaine and gold worth over 1,430,000 euros seized by Bulgarian customs officers

11,180 kg of cocaine and 5,199.07 grams of gold bars worth a total of 1,431,906.6 euros were discovered by customs officers at the Kapitan Andreevo BCP during an inspection of a truck leaving the country.

On 22.02.2026, at around 10 am, a semi-trailer tractor with a Turkish registration arrived at the post. The driver, a Turkish citizen, declared the goods being transported – flowers, from the Netherlands via Bulgaria to Turkey. The customs officer, performing documentary control and weighing with the electronic axle load scale, selected the vehicle for a thorough customs inspection, including with X-ray equipment. Analysis of the X-ray image shows areas of suspicious density. A customs dog was also involved in the control actions. During the subsequent physical control, 10 packages containing a white powdery substance were found in the driver’s cabin. A field drug test was performed, which showed a reaction to cocaine. The total gross weight of the drugs found was 11.180 kg, worth 1,028,923.78 euros.

A customs officer also performed a personal examination of the driver. In the pockets of his jacket, 3 packages containing casts of molten yellow metal were found. According to the expert examination, the casts were made of gold with a total weight of 5,199.07 grams, worth 402,982.82 euros.

The drugs, the gold casts, the driver and the vehicle used to commit the crime were detained. Pre-trial proceedings were initiated in the case by an investigating customs inspector under the supervision of the District Prosecutor’s Office – Haskovo.

As a result of the investigative actions carried out, together with the Directorate General for Combating Organized Crime, two more persons involved in the case were identified and detained.