Austria intercepts huge heroin shipment
Staff reporter - [email protected]
Published: 6 May, 2014 CET.
Updated: Tue 6 May 2014 12:00 CET
Customs officials have found a large stash of heroin hidden in a car transporter traveling through Upper Austria.
Twenty-three kilograms of the narcotic drug were found hidden in the truck in Suben. It is believed to have come from Bulgaria and was heading to Germany, according to OÖNachrichten. Customs investigators travelling on the Innkreisautobahn (A8) noticed the empty car transporter and pulled it over into a parking lot, 20km from the German border. The 43-year-old Bulgarian driver said he was planning to drive to Germany in order to sell cars, but his vehicle had a British license plate, which made the customs officials suspicious. They decided to do a more thorough inspection and took the transporter to the customs office in Suben. There it was carefully screened and investigators found a stash of white powder hidden in the coupling of the truck. "An initial test was clearly positive, it's probably heroin," said one investigator. The Bulgarian driver was arrested on the spot and is now in police custody. Customs officials believe the drugs came from Bulgaria and were destined for Germany and Great Britain. "Austria is used as a transit country for bringing illegal goods and drugs into the EU. Border controls are an important addition to police patrols," State Secretary of Finance Jochen Danninger told OÖNachrichten.
Comments
See Also
Twenty-three kilograms of the narcotic drug were found hidden in the truck in Suben. It is believed to have come from Bulgaria and was heading to Germany, according to OÖNachrichten.
Customs investigators travelling on the Innkreisautobahn (A8) noticed the empty car transporter and pulled it over into a parking lot, 20km from the German border.
The 43-year-old Bulgarian driver said he was planning to drive to Germany in order to sell cars, but his vehicle had a British license plate, which made the customs officials suspicious.
They decided to do a more thorough inspection and took the transporter to the customs office in Suben. There it was carefully screened and investigators found a stash of white powder hidden in the coupling of the truck. "An initial test was clearly positive, it's probably heroin," said one investigator.
The Bulgarian driver was arrested on the spot and is now in police custody. Customs officials believe the drugs came from Bulgaria and were destined for Germany and Great Britain.
"Austria is used as a transit country for bringing illegal goods and drugs into the EU. Border controls are an important addition to police patrols," State Secretary of Finance Jochen Danninger told OÖNachrichten.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.