The trailer where the drug shipment was found was supposedly transporting cable-laying machines, raising suspicion for its unusually long stay at the port.
ADVERTISEMENTAuthorities in Bulgaria seized some 436 kilograms of heroin at the Black Sea port of Burgas, the district prosecutor’s office said on Monday.
The heroin was stashed in 434 packages hidden inside officially declared cargo in a trailer. The drug haul’s value is estimated at €35 million.
"This is the largest amount of drugs seized on the territory of Burgas since the existence of statistical records," said district prosecutor Georgi Chinev.
The trailer had arrived at the end of July on a land route from Kyrgyzstan to the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi, from where it crossed into Burgas.
From Bulgaria, it was due to continue its route to Greece's Alexandroupolis.
The trailer, supposedly transporting cable-laying machines, raised suspicion due to its unusually long stay at the port, anti-drug unit chief Ivan Sokolov told reporters, adding that an X-ray inspection led to the discovery of the concealed heroin.
“So far, there have been no arrests, and no persons found involved in this cross-border crime,” Chinev said.
Bulgaria, which lies on a drug route from the Middle East to Western Europe, has taken massive steps in recent years to prevent drug trafficking.
A conviction of drug trafficking in the country now carries up to 20 years in prison.