Bulgaria Busts Cocaine Trafficking Route From Colombia

Sofia, Feb 2 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Feb, 2020 ) :Bulgarian officials said Sunday they had busted a cocaine trafficking route from Colombia after finding an estimated 500 kilogrammes (1,102 Pounds) of the drug in two trucks loaded with citrus fruit.

The cocaine, which was found on Friday, was concealed in the cardboard of some 6,700 boxes.

Interior ministry chief of staff Ivaylo Ivanov said police estimates showed that each box contained between 80 and 100 grammes of the drug, putting the total amount at "about 500 kilogrammes".

"The evidence collected even at this very early stage of the investigation signals about the existence of an international drug trafficking route," a court statement said.

It remanded in custody two men, whose companies were listed as recipients of the cargo, for "participation in an organised crime group for cocaine trafficking from Colombia to Bulgaria." One of those arrested is a former director of the Sofia Customs Agency.

Bulgaria and neighbouring Romania are considered key transit points for cocaine from Latin America on the smuggling route to western Europe but this time authorities said the cocaine was probably meant for the Bulgarian market.

In August 2019, authorities uncovered a 75-kilo shipment of cocaine hidden among bananas from Ecuador after similar busts were made in several European countries including Ukraine, Poland and Spain.