The leader of an organized criminal network for arms and drug trafficking was detained in an operation by the Directorate of the Bulgarian Anti-Terrorism Police (GDBOP), the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported. The operation was carried out on March 23, news.bg recalled.
The operation, named "Thrace", was carried out simultaneously in Bulgaria, Spain and Greece under the coordination of Europol. In addition to the leader of the organization, 20 more people were detained - a total of 3 in Bulgaria and 18 in Spain.
The group is being investigated for trafficking firearms from the Western Balkans and Turkey to the European Union. After entering Europe, the weapons were used as "currency" in drug deals.
The person detained by the Directorate of the Bulgarian Anti-Terrorism Police (GDBOP) is a Turkish citizen. Procedures are underway for his extradition to Spain. It was established that he coordinated the supply and transportation of firearms from Turkey to Spain and the trafficking of narcotics on the reverse route - from Spain through Bulgaria and Greece to Turkey.
The investigation began in March 2025, when the Catalan police Mossos d"Esquadra established the illegal import of firearms to criminal groups in the area. A well-structured supply chain for the contraband goods, hidden in specially constructed caches of cars and freight trains, was established.
The criminal group also traded in so-called "Frankenstein" weapons - hybrid firearms, combining original components with handmade metal parts, making them easy to distribute and difficult to trace.
In parallel with this activity, the investigation established its involvement in large-scale international cannabis trafficking and a well-established infrastructure for export via land and sea routes to Turkey and Greece, where the value of the drug is significantly increasing. It is believed that the network had the capacity to transport up to 1.5 tons of marijuana per month.
On the day of the joint actions to neutralize the criminal activity of the group, 8 weapons were found and seized - pistols and machine guns, silencers, as well as 587 kg of marijuana and 76 kg of hashish, with an estimated value on the illegal market of 4.4 million euros.