Kiev - Ukrainian border police on Thursday seized a Turkish national and his lorry loaded with cocaine worth as much as 14.2 million dollars, the Interfax news agency reported.

The bust took place at a road checkpoint on the Russo-Ukrainian border near the city of Kharkiv.

The driver, a Turkish citizen aged 49, had been en route to Romania from Kazakhstan via Russia.

Agents for Ukraine's national secret police agency, the SBU, acting on intelligence halted and searched the man's lorry, eventually uncovering in a hidden compartment 116 bricks of cocaine.

Depending on purity, the total weight of 142 kilos of cocaine would have a street value of between 6 million and 14 million dollars in European markets, according to Interpol estimates.

The man, according to the border troops' statement, became hysterical and lost consciousness shortly before law enforcers found the cache.

He received medical treatment and his health was reportedly not in danger.

The confiscation came two months after Ukrainian customs officers in the Black Sea port Odessa intercepted 46.7 kilograms of cocaine. The drugs had been hidden in tins filled with bananas.

Ukraine is a popular transit country for international narcotics shipments due to its poorly-controlled borders with Russia and proximity to European Union markets. (dpa)