Sofia (Bulgaria), Sep 14
Bulgarian law enforcement authorities have seized 124.708 kg of smuggled gold items worth US$6 million at the country's Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint, authorities said.
"This was the largest amount of contraband gold seized at the Bulgarian borders," the National Customs Agency (NCA) said in a statement on Friday.
The items were found on Wednesday in a car with Bulgarian registration, which arrived at the checkpoint at 7:30 p.m. local time and was travelling from Bulgaria to Turkey, reports news agency, citing the statement.
According to the NCA, the driver and his companion, one Bulgarian citizen and the other with dual Bulgarian-Turkish citizenship, said they had nothing to declare. However, a thorough inspection that lasted over 13 hours revealed gold ingots, bars, jewellery and coins, which were hidden in various places in the car.