Sofia, January 11 (BTA) - Customs officers at the Danube Bridge - Vidin border checkpoint found 14.685 kg of heroin hidden in a car, the Customs Agency said on Tuesday.    

The arrest took place on January 9, when the car was traveling from Bulgaria to Germany, and the driver stated that he was not transporting prohibited goods. A search of the floor of the car revealed specially concealed hiding places, which could be accessed only through two openings located under the front seats. After they were dismantled, the customs officers found 29 packages of a substance that was identified as heroin in a field drug test.      

An additional inspection revealed that the hiding places were lined with lead on the outside in order to complicate X-ray inspection.    

The prosecutor's office has filed charges against the driver of the car, and the court is yet to decide whether to keep him in custody permanently. The punishment he faces is imprisonment from 10 to 15 years and a fine of 100,000 to 200,000 leva.

RY/MT