Six people, including five citizens of the Republic of Moldova, detained at the Bulgaria–Turkey border after hiding nearly $1.2 million under their clothes

Six people were detained at the Lesovo border crossing between Bulgaria and Turkey after Bulgarian authorities found $1,199,900 hidden under their clothes. The group was traveling from the Republic of Moldova to Turkey in a foreign-registered vehicle.

Five of those detained are citizens of the Republic of Moldova, while one of the women also holds Romanian citizenship. The group consists of three men and three women. The case was made public by the Bulgarian press, while Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had not provided a comment by the time the information was published.

Border police decided to conduct an additional inspection of the vehicle. During the checks, customs inspectors found elastic belts worn under the driver’s and passengers’ clothes. Vacuum-sealed packages containing $100 banknotes were hidden inside them.

Five people had $200,000 each, while $199,900 was found on the sixth person. The money was confiscated, and all six people were detained at the Border Police Inspectorate in Elhovo.

Bulgarian authorities opened six criminal cases. The investigation is being conducted by a customs inspector under the supervision of the Yambol Regional Prosecutor’s Office.