Bulgaria’s GDBOP officers neutralized an organized criminal group involved in the trafficking of illegal migrants

The special operation was carried out by the GDBOP, under the supervision of the prosecutor’s office and with the active participation of employees of the GJSOBT – MIA and ODMVR – Pleven. The actions were carried out on the territory of the cities of Pleven and Nikopol according to a pre-trial proceeding.

As part of the operation, 8 participants in a criminal group involved in the trafficking of illegal migrants were arrested. During personal searches, as well as searches of the 8 homes they lived in and the two cars they used, 10 mobile phones, a laptop computer, BGN 2,700 and EUR 45,000, nearly 500 g of gold jewelry and documents related to the criminal scheme were seized. Two combat pistols and 4 hunting rifles were found. A car was also confiscated, for which data was obtained that it was purchased with financial resources generated by the criminal activity.  

In the course of the investigation, it was established that the group was structured mainly on the territory of the two cities, and had been operating since the beginning of 2019. according to a strictly constructed hierarchical structure with an organizer and a leader. According to the data, until now the participants in the criminal scheme were part of an active international cross-border channel for the trafficking of illegal migrants, with its direction of action being from Turkey and Greece through Bulgaria and Romania to countries in Western Europe.