Lesovo customs seize over 14 kg of gold hidden on driver’s body

A record amount of 14.266 kg of smuggled gold castings worth over BGN 1.3 million was detained by customs officers at the Lesovo Customs BCP during an inspection of a truck driver, a Romanian citizen. The gold casts were plastered on the man’s body and hidden in his shoes. This is the largest amount of smuggled gold items found so far at the checkpoint during a personal examination of a driver or a passenger.

On 20.03.2025, the truck with foreign registration arrived at the Lesovo BCP on an outgoing route from the country on its way from Romania to Turkey. In the customs control area, the driver, a Romanian citizen with the initials M.O. stated that he had nothing to declare and he was traveling without cargo to receive goods from Turkey. Customs officers selected the vehicle for a thorough inspection. During a personal examination of the driver in the course of the control actions, customs inspectors found a total of 10 casts of yellow metal on the man’s body. 8 of them were wrapped around the waist and on his legs and 2 were hidden in his shoes.

The expert examination found that each of the castings was made of gold of different purity – from 10 to 18 carats. The total amount of gold items is 14,266 grams worth BGN 1,344,589 at court prices.

The smuggled gold items were seized. Pre-trial proceedings have been initiated in the case by an investigating customs inspector, which is being conducted under the supervision of the Yambol District Prosecutor’s Office. The crime is qualified under Art. 242, para 1, b.” e”, vr. Art. 18, para. 1 of the Penal Code. The Romanian citizen M.O. was detained for up to 72 hours.

Soruce/photo: National Customs Agency of the Republic of Bulgaria (customs.bg)