Arrested on a drug driving charge!

On 4th July 2018 when the police pulled me over on my way back from the beach at about 3pm, I was told it was a random stop and search initiative.

There were 2 police cars and a police motorbike at the road block which seemed a little over the top for a little road that led from the beach that was never busy and not the kind of place that it was likely to find anyone with drugs nor the kind of place that a police stop and search initiative would reap much reward!

I was asked for my papers and to step out of the car and put the keys on the dashboard which I did.

The one policeman who spoke English asked to search the car to which I agreed.

I also agreed to a personal search of my bag and of me after one of the policeman saw a bit of a little plastic sachet I had in my back pocket which when he pulled out  revealed that it contained a pair of earings, not drugs!

No drugs were found of course which on looking back seemed to surprise them. 

Any how I thought it would be the end of it and I would be free to go..

However it was not! I was told that I was required to take a roadside test for alcohol and drugs which had now been requested and was on its way from Varna and would arrive in an hour so I would have to wait..

I enquired why this was necessary when the searches of my car and me had been clear and there was no other grounds to suspect that I had been drinking or taking drugs. Especially given I would have to wait an hour for the test to arrive.

The policeman then said that they had received a tip off and when I asked by who, I was told it had come from a drug dealer in Varna..

Considering that I did not know any drug dealers in Varna or in Bulgaria I knew this had to be either a mistake, or was a lie by the police or by someone else to set me up but I was thinking mostly it was more than  likely just the police trying to make things difficult for me as a parting gift  seeing as they knew I was leaving for the UK the next day and given that I had had a run in with them earlier that day when they told me never to call them again, this I felt was just them making life difficult for me!

Seeing as I had not been drinking or  taking drugs I wasnt concerned about taking the tests but a little peed I had to wait!

I called the British Embassy who advised me to speak to a lawyer but also informed me that there needed to be a translator present.

The police then arranged for a friend I knew from the town who spoke reasonable English to come to the roadside to translate.

At this point I saw no need to get a lawyer as I knew I had done nothing wrong and the tests would be negative!

While waiting for the translator and the test, I needed water for me and Lula as it was extremely hot I was accompanied by the policeman to the restaurant opposite to get some.

The manager of the bar told me that I should not take the tests and I should get a lawyer as he knew it was a set up as the police had not stopped anyone but me and had been clearly waiting for me!

As I walked back to the car, I saw Valeri in the distance  walking up the road from the beach.

On seeing him the police went to  intercept him half way down the road where they were talking for a while before returning together to where I was.

As they approached I heard Valeri say to the policeman something about Zakuska which means breakfast but at the time I thought nothing of it.

I expected Valeri to stay with me especially as he spoke English and Bulgarian and was supposed to be my boyfriend.

Valeri spoke to me for just minutes and I said that I was concerned about the police saying they had been tipped off by a drug dealer and repeated what the manager of the bar had said to me.

Valeri said he would go and get help and left. I was sure he would come back but he didnt.

My friend arrived to translate shortly before the tests from Varna arrived.

There were two other police officers who arrived with the test, one female who spoke English and a male who did not.

I took the alcohol test first and of course it was negative.

I took the drug test which was a swob that I had to put in my mouth for a minute but they  asked me after the first minute to do it again and then again after the second minute but did not explain what the problem was.

The policeman then took it to show the other policemen and before I knew what was happening, the number plates were being ripped off my car.

The policeman then spoke to my friend who translated to me that the drug test was positive for two drugs and I was under arrest. I asked what the drugs were and she told me methamphetamine and amphetamine which at the time I did not even know what they were.

At this point she was told to go and I was arrested.

I started to cry and said it had to be a mistake but the policeman just said to me over and over dont lie, just admit it, you have taken drugs! I said that I hadn't taken drugs and I didnt know any drug dealers!

My car was searched again and
the policewoman search me again on the roadside more thoroughly and of course found no drugs.

I had my dog Lula with me and I needed to get her home before I was taken to the police station.

I asked if they could find Valeri and I  said he was probably at my villa which was a few hundred metres away.
The policeman just laughed and said he doubted that followed by; where is your husband now! I made it clear he was not my husband and the policeman just said; he is not your friend either and laughed.

The police took Lula to my villa and I was taken to Byala police station and officially arrested for drug driving. My driving licence was confiscated and I was banned from driving and my car deregistered and would be off the road until the investigation was complete.

I called the British Embassy who said I would be taken to Varna after my arrest was documented for blood tests and I would be accompanied by an English speaking female police officer at all times. Then I would be released until further notice. I was not to leave the country and would know what I would be charged with after the blood test results which could take a few weeks.

I was taken from Byala police station 50km to a military hospital in Varna in a police car with two male officers who did not speak English. I was petrified and even worried about what they were going to do to me. This was Bulgaria after all and I had already been arrested for something I had not done by police who are known to be corrupt in Bulgaria.

I was given blood tests in conditions that would not be allowed in the UK. The room was not sterile and had piles of used syringes in bowls all together. After my blood test my sample was added to the bowl too I presume but I never saw what was done with it and just asked to signed documents that were in Bulgarian.

I was then taken to Varna police station and held in a room for hours without really knowing what was going on as I was spoken to in Bulgarian the whole time. I was not offered water, food or the toilet either.

After being stopped at 3pm for what I thought was a random stop and search and subsequently arrested, I was finally released about 10 hours later in the early hours and had to find my own way back from Varna to Byala which is 50km.

I was absolutely devastated and in total shock and disbelief as to how the hell this had happened.

Not only had I been arrested for a drug driving offence in Bulgaria where penalties for drug offences are harsh, I had not taken drugs, I did not know any drug dealers but somehow the day before I was to leave Bulgaria to return to the UK to escape the violence and abuse at the hands of Valeri, I was now banned from driving, had had my new car taken off the road and could not leave the country with charges for drugs pending which I had been set up for but I was not sure exactly who was responsible for it but it could only be the police or Valeri or both.

I was now stuck in Bulgaria where I had not been safe and now I was in danger but also in serious trouble!

Valeri was not at the villa when I got home which just confirmed my suspicions that he had to be involved in this somehow..