Bulgarian Authorities Seize 11,180 kg of Cocaine at Border Checkpoint
Jerusalem, 25 February, 2026 (TPS-IL) -- Kapitan Andreevo Border Checkpoint (BTA) – With the help of an X-ray and a customs dog at the checkpoint “Kapitan Andreevo” on the Turkish border, Bulgarian authorities foiled the smuggling of 11,180 kg of cocaine and 5,199 kg of gold, the regional press center of the Customs Agency in Svilengrad and the press center of the Appellate Prosecutor’s Office – Plovdiv announced. I
In addition to the direct alleged perpetrator – the truck driver A.H. (53 years old), a Turkish citizen, with the active assistance of the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GDBOP), two accomplices were also identified – the 37-year-old Turkish citizen F.U. and the 24-year-old Bulgarian citizen D.R., the state prosecution specified.
The case dates back to February 22, when at 10:00 a tractor with a semi-trailer with Turkish registration arrived at the checkpoint. The driver declared the transported goods – 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 showed areas of suspicious density.
A customs dog was also involved in the control actions. During the subsequent physical control, 10 compressed 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 detected drug was 11.180 kg, worth 1,028,923.78 euros.
A customs officer also conducted a personal search of the driver. In the pockets of his jacket, three packages with four castings of molten yellow metal were found. According to the expert examination, the castings are made of gold with a total weight of 5,199.07 grams, worth 402,982.82 euros.
The drugs, the gold bars, the driver and the vehicle were detained, as well as the two possible accomplices, all initially for a period of 72 hours. Pre-trial proceedings have been initiated in the case. The Haskovo District Prosecutor’s Office is about to request from the court a permanent measure of detention “Detention in custody”.
The last attempt to traffic cocaine through “Kapitan Andreevo” was on February 10 , when the senior police officer in the “Security Police” sector of the Regional Department of the Ministry of Interior in Vratsa, Desislava Pavlova (34), was arrested at the border crossing after 2.348 kg of cocaine worth 51,382 euros were found in the battery of the car in which she was traveling alone.
A week earlier, on February 3, in a truck leaving the country towards Turkey, customs officers discovered smuggled 192 grams of gold rings and 13 kilograms of silver – used items and granules with a total value of 50,095 euros.
