National Customs Agency

As a result of the operation 'Orient Express', customs officers at Kapitan Andreevo BCP seized a record amount of 205.940 kg of cocaine, hidden in five suitcases. This is the largest quantity of cocaine seized at land borders in Bulgaria.

Details of the investigation were provided to the media by Temenuzhka Petkova - Minister of Finance, Daniel Mitov - Minister of the Interior, Georgi Dimov - Director of the National Customs Agency, Chief Commissioner Boyan Raev - Director of the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime - Ministry of the Interior, and Ivan Stoyanov - District Prosecutor of Haskovo, who opened the press conference and presented the circumstances of the case.

When institutions work together, the results are good, and we prove that Bulgaria safeguards the borders of the EU, said Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova. After four years of political weightlessness, when institutions are in coordination, the results are evident, commented Interior Minister Daniel Mitov, adding that the operation is entirely Bulgarian and coordination with partner services has already been established.

Georgi Dimov, Director of the National Customs Agency, commented that on the day the drugs were seized, over 10,000 cars passed through the Kapitan Andreevo BCP, and the seizure was the result of coordinated actions by over 100 people from different agencies, with the movement of the vehicle being monitored from the border with Serbia to the Kapitan Andreevo BCP.

Stefan Bakalov, Head of the Drug Enforcement Department at the National Customs Agency, clarified that the customs officers were working based on a pre-established risk model.

The Director of the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime, Chief Commissioner Boyan Raev, thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their assistance during the operation, and in response to a journalist's question, clarified that the involvement of other Bulgarian citizens is currently being investigated.

On July 18, 2025, a Land Rover passenger car with diplomatic plates, driven by a Bulgarian citizen, arrived at the checkpoint. There were two more passengers in the car traveling from Belgium through Bulgaria to Turkey - a man, a citizen of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with diplomatic status, and a woman with Belgian citizenship. As part of Operation “Orient Express,” the vehicle was selected for a thorough customs inspection by customs officers from the Drug Enforcement Department. The inspection also involved customs dog Raya, trained to sniff out drugs, which directed its attention to four suitcases in the trunk and one on the back seat behind the driver. The suitcases were scanned with mobile x-ray equipment, revealing unusual densities. Upon opening them, it was found that instead of personal belongings, they contained a total of 179 packets of a white powdery substance. A field drug test indicated the presence of cocaine with a total gross weight of 205.940 kg. The cocaine is valued at 37,069,200 Bulgarian leva at current prices.

Numerous operational-search activities have been carried out on the territory of the country. A preliminary investigation has been initiated by an investigating customs inspector under the supervision of the District Prosecutor's Office - Haskovo. The District Prosecutor's Office - Haskovo has charged D.H., 43 years old, a Bulgarian citizen, J.M., 40 years old, a citizen of the Democratic Republic of Congo holding a diplomatic passport, and D.A., 54 years old, a Belgian citizen born in the Republic of Congo, for attempting to transport a high-risk narcotic substance across the border of the country - from Bulgaria to Turkey - without the proper authorization. The act remained unfinished due to reasons beyond the control of the perpetrator. The crime is classified under Article 242, paragraph 4 in conjunction with paragraph 2 and Article 18, paragraph 1 of the Penal Code. The three accused have been detained for up to 72 hours by order of the supervising prosecutor. The District Prosecutor's Office - Haskovo is expected to submit a request to the court for the application of the measure of detention on remand against them.