Bulgarian Customs Seize Estimated BGN 15 M Worth of Smuggled Anabolic Steroids  

Customs officials at Bulgaria's Danube Bridge 2 checkpoint in Vidin, at the border with Romania, have seized nearly 15,000 vials marked as containing anabolic steroids being smuggled in a Slovak-registered van.

The vehicle carried packages of dog food to Slovakia, according to the cargo manifest. The starting point of the trip was not disclosed.

During the inspection of the van customs officers found 14,820 vials marked as containing 15 mg of Norditropin SimpleXx each and stashed underneath the declared cargo, the National Customs Agency said in a statement on Wednesday. The market price of a vial of Norditropin SimpleXx 15mg/1,5ml is in excess of BGN 1,000 (EUR 500), according to the statement.

The instructions for use printed on the vials were in Turkish. The inspection revealed that the name of the sender was fictitious.

Norditropin is an anabolic steroid used for accumulation of body mass during fitness exercises. Bulgarian authorities will now have to verify whether the content of the vials corresponds to the description printed on them.