A several-hour operation by the Directorate of Drug Control took place in the capital's "Faculty" district. The anti-mafia agents smashed a main depot for the production and distribution of one of the most dangerous synthetic drugs - fentanyl.
The operation comes after a four-month investigation. The smashed laboratory in Sofia is considered the core of the drug's production in our country. From there, it was distributed to the Bulgarian market, with between 6 and 10 kilograms being produced per day.
So far, ten people have already been detained - three producers and seven distributors.
„The new thing from yesterday to today is that colleagues continue the procedural and investigative actions in the field“ Last night, several weapons were found at one of the addresses, as well as a large sum of money - about 350 thousand euros. Crypto wallets with significant funds were also found“, commented to bTV the deputy director of the Directorate of Drug Control, Senior Commissioner Darin Kostov.
There are addresses both in Sofia and in other parts of the country, he pointed out.
„There are detainees in several cities. The three producers were arrested when leaving the drug laboratory. About 6 kilograms of fentanyl were found in them“, explained Darin Kostov.
„So far, fentanyl is the largest operation against the production and distribution of fentanyl in our country. Small quantities have been seized in various parts of the country, but so far no laboratory for its production has been discovered,“ he pointed out.
“We have information about where the precursors were supplied from, but this is part of the investigation and I will not comment on the details. At a later stage, probably at a joint press conference with the prosecutor's office, more data will be released“, the expert said.
“We worked not only with gas masks, but also with special protective clothing, because the environment in the laboratory is extremely toxic and dangerous.
I would like to thank the teams of the Military Medical Academy and the Institute of Forensic Science at the Ministry of Interior, who provided us with serious assistance. I also thank the operatives, the investigating police officers and the prosecutors who brought this operation to a successful conclusion“, announced Darin Kostov.
“From the moment we started monitoring them, we have not allowed the manufactured drug to reach the market. All the transactions we have tracked have been intercepted during the investigation.
Other pre-trial proceedings have also been initiated in different parts of the country where the drug was distributed. Our main goal was to establish the place of production and completely cut off this channel“, explained Senior Commissioner Darin Kostov.
“In such an environment, there are never empty spaces left. However, for us, the most important thing was to hold the group that produces it. "The work continues," he said.
More arrests are expected.
Some of those detained are expected to be charged by noon.