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Confiscated heroin
Photo: Bulgarian Prosecutor's Office / AP
In the port of the Bulgarian Black Sea city of Varna, the authorities confiscated more than 400 kilograms of heroin.
The drugs were on a ship that had come from Dubai.
This was announced by the main customs office in Sofia.
The heroin was hidden in rolls of the building material bitumen from Iran.
The value of the smuggled drugs has been estimated at up to 36 million leva (around 18 million euros) for the upcoming legal proceedings.
The market value of the drugs sorted in 487 packages could be up to three times higher.
The load of bitumen rolls was destined for a Bulgarian company, the owner of which was arrested.
A customs officer was also arrested during the police operation.
The two Bulgarians can be sentenced to prison terms of up to 15 years.
Investigators assume that the bulk of the drugs confiscated was not intended for the Bulgarian black market.
The EU country lies on the so-called Balkan drug trafficking route, which supplies the West with drugs from Asia and the Middle East.
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bbr / dpa / Reuters