Covid-19: More than 290 000 masks confiscated from smuggler given to Bulgarian Red Cross
Bulgaria’s Customs Agency has given 294 000 surgical protective masks confiscated from a would-be smuggler to the Bulgarian Red Cross, the agency said on March 24.
The masks were confiscated on March 22 at the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint.
They were found when Bulgarian customs officers checked a lorry entering from Turkey.
The driver, a Polish citizen, presented a manifest showing the cargo as mainly textiles. An x-ray check and subsequent physical search of the lorry found 294 000 medical masks in 155 containers that had not been listed in the customs documents.
An agreement has been reached with the offender, the masks have been confiscated for the benefit of the state and released without being subject to import duties, the Customs Agency said.
The face masks remain at the disposal of the Bulgarian Red Cross in the warehouse of the Customs Agency.
The decision was taken in terms of the Transitional and Final Provisions of the State of Emergency Measures Act approved by Bulgaria’s Parliament, the statement said.
Earlier on March 24, Bulgaria’s Customs Agency said that it had made available more than 158 000 litres of confiscated ethyl alcohol for medical use by health authorities for disinfection in the fight against Covid-19.
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(Photo: Customs Agency)
