Plovdiv appeals court keeps Ukrainian lorry driver in custody over attempt to smuggle marijuana worth more than €1.8m at Kapitan Andreevo
The Court of Appeal in Plovdiv has kept a 42-year-old Ukrainian in custody. He is charged with trying to smuggle marijuana through the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing, the court said.
The court upheld a ruling by the Haskovo regional court, which ordered him held in custody on 16 October. The decision is final and cannot be appealed.
The man is a lorry driver. He was detained on 12 October at the border with Turkey. An X-ray of the lorry reportedly showed sacks of clear plastic packets of the drug, hidden among timber in the cargo area. The marijuana weighs 221.730 kg and is worth more than €1.8m.
The appeals court said the defendant is a foreign national with no permanent residence or address in Bulgaria, so there is a real risk he would flee. The judges also see a risk he would commit another crime, because the law sets a heavy penalty for the offence.