Nearly 1 kg of smuggled gold jewelry seized at checkpoint in Malko Tarnovo

Officers at Malko Tarnovo customs checkpoint seized 981.75 grammes of gold jewellery hidden in cream cheese boxes and in the clothes of three women travelling in a car.

On 21 September 2022, a car with Romanian registration arrived at Malko Tarnovo customs check-up point on an entry route from Turkey. In the customs control area, the woman driving the car and all the passengers, Romanian citizens, declared that they had nothing to declare.

During the check, the customs inspectors found boxes with cream cheese, among the luggage, 5 packages wrapped with dark tape and plastic.

The packages were found to contain a total of 747.93 grammes of gold jewellery. Another 233.82 grammes of gold articles were found in the clothes of the woman driver and two of the female passengers during subsequent personal checks.

A total of 981.75 grammes of jewellery items were seized - rings, bracelets, earrings, pendants, etc., which, according to the initial expert opinion, were made of 14-carat gold (sample 585) and were worth BGN 88 358.

The undeclared gold jewellery was found to be the property of the three women in the vehicle. Out of the total quantity, each of them was carrying 616.88 g, 265.40 g and 99.47 g of gold jewellery respectively. Three administrative offence reports were issued.

A total of 1.776 kg of smuggled gold products have been detained by the customs officers of Malko Tarnovo Municipality only since the beginning of September. They were discovered during customs checks of cars and passengers entering the country from Turkey.