Search, Seizure and Personal Search in Drug Cases

Search, seizure and personal search are among the most important evidence-gathering measures in Bulgarian drug cases. Their legality depends on the grounds, authorisation, participants, documentation and the exact way in which objects were found and secured.

Search and seizure

A search is carried out where there is sufficient reason to believe that premises, a vehicle or a person contain objects or data relevant to the case. As a rule it requires judicial authorisation. In urgent cases it may be performed without prior authorisation, but the record must be submitted promptly for judicial approval under the Criminal Procedure Code.

The protocol should state the place, time, participants, sequence of actions, objects found, their location, packaging and sealing. The person concerned may make comments and objections for inclusion in the record.

Personal search

A personal search must be distinguished from a routine police check. It affects personal inviolability and must comply with the applicable procedural rules. The grounds, the person conducting it and the manner in which objects are discovered must be recorded.

Voluntary surrender

A record of voluntary surrender does not automatically resolve whether the act was genuinely voluntary or whether the object had already been found during coercive police action. The circumstances before signing and the wording of the record must be examined.

What should be checked?

• the legal basis and any court authorisation;
• whether an urgent search was subsequently approved;
• the identity and role of every participant;
• the exact place where each object was found;
• photographs, package numbers, seals and signatures;
• consistency between the search record, seizure documents, field test and expert report;
• whether rights and objections were recorded.

Conclusion

A procedural defect does not have an identical automatic consequence in every case. Its significance depends on its nature, the affected rights and the remaining evidence.

This is general information, not advice on an individual case.

For assistance, contact attorney Mihail Tomov, Varna Bar Association.

Related topics: Detention in a drug case – rights and first steps and Field test and chemical examination of drugs.