• Officials from the Ministry of the Interior, the Customs Agency, and the Ministry of Environment and Water joined efforts against illegal trafficking and management of waste.

An international operation called TOX'2023 was held from 9 to 13 October 2023 with the focus - illegal waste management and trafficking.  The actions took place in SELEC (South East Europe Law Enforcement Centre) member countries, including Bulgaria, as well as in Austria, Slovenia, France, and Italy.

In our country, the inspections involved officers from the Directorate General of National Police (DGNP), the General Directorate of Border Police (DGBP), the Sofia Directorate of Interior Affairs (SDIA), and all regional directorates of the Ministry of Interior, the Customs Agency, and the Ministry of Environment and Water.

A total of six inspections of ship cargoes in the ports of Varna and Burgas revealed no violations in the transport of waste.

Within the operation, the control at the border crossing points was enhanced to prevent illegal trafficking of waste, with 318 inspections carried out by Customs Agency staff, 484 inspections carried out by the DGNP staff, and 307 sites and 896 motor vehicles inspected by the teams of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the regional directorates.

Experts from the Regional Inspectorates of Environment and Water established 15 administrative offences for waste management not in accordance with the established procedure. Seven cases of unauthorized disposal of household and construction waste were detected, for which observation protocols were drawn up and prescriptions for cleaning were issued.

An investigation was initiated for commercial activity with black and non-ferrous metal waste without the relevant document in view of evidence of a criminal offence under Article 234b of the Criminal Code. Six cases of storage and dismantling of end-of-life vehicles and three cases of stored end-of-life railway sleepers treated with chemical substances were found, for which no permits under Article 35 of the Waste Management Act had been issued. Appropriate administrative measures have also been taken.

Cases with evidence of hazardous waste management in non-compliance with the established procedure that were found have been referred to the competent prosecutor's office in relation to a criminal offence under Article 353c of the Penal Code.