79 kilos of marijuana in a truck full of steel: the Turkey-bound load was intercepted at Dojran

A truck carrying steel profiles, a driver from Bosnia and Herzegovina, destination Greece. On paper - a completely ordinary transit. In reality, the load contained 79 kilograms of marijuana meant for the Turkish market.

Macedonia's Customs Administration said the operation began on an intelligence tip. Mobile teams intercepted the vehicle at the Dojran border crossing as it was leaving the country. The marijuana was seized and the driver detained. In the pre-investigation procedure run by the customs investigations department together with the public prosecutor's office for organised crime and corruption, a total of five people have been detained, and a criminal complaint has been filed against them for unauthorised production and trafficking of narcotics.

The most interesting part is how the load got "loaded". According to the investigation, the truck entered Macedonia with legal cargo. At a pre-arranged location, by prior agreement with people from Macedonia, the marijuana was transferred into the truck. The driver then sealed it with a seal he had brought with him and carried on towards the border as if nothing had happened.

A customs seal in the driver's pocket. That's the detail that should worry everyone who believes a sealed truck means a checked truck. This time the intelligence worked and the load got no further than Dojran.

Here, too, Macedonia turns out to be what the Balkans have long known it to be - a transit point. The drugs weren't meant for the domestic market; they were just passing through. How many trucks like this get through when there's no tip-off in advance?