New facts from the investigation against Petar Mirchev - the Bulgarian accused of trading weapons with a Mexican drug cartel. For decades, Petar Mirchev has been close to Viktor Bout - known as the "merchant of death".
"An international arms trafficker based in Bulgaria has been in business for approximately 25 years" - this is how Petar Mirchev is described in the American indictment.
Together with the other three defendants, they worked to sell weapons to the Mexican cartel Jalisco Nueva Generation.
Mirchev participated in a series of meetings with its representatives, even sending them brochures and a list of weapons that he could provide them. It came to the first - a test shipment. In and around November 2023, at the direction of Mirchev and as payment for the initial arms deal, approximately $ 37,977.53 was transferred from a bank account in the United States to a Bulgarian bank account held in the name of a Bulgarian arms manufacturer associated with Mirchev, BTV reported.
About half a year later, the weapons were also sent from Bulgaria, the document says. We are talking about 50 assault rifles with magazines and ammunition. Forged documents were used to complete the deal, with Tanzania as the final recipient.
The Bulgarian Ministry of Economy explains the arms trade procedure, but does not answer the question about the specific shipment of Petar Mirchev. And according to the indictment - after it, the defendants began working on a more serious deal for over 53 million euros.
Everything was supposed to fall into the hands of the cartel. And in the indictment, it is described as one of the most cruel organizations, controlling a large part of Mexico through “fear, bribery, violence and intimidation“. The American documents also state that Mirchev is connected to the supply of weapons to Viktor Bout, known as the "merchant of death".
In 2008, Bout was arrested in Bangkok, then extradited to the United States and sentenced to 25 years in prison for arming a terrorist organization, conspiring to murder American citizens, and conspiring to acquire and export anti-aircraft missiles. In 2022, the Russian arms dealer Bout was exchanged for American basketball player Britney Griner and returned to his country.
We sent these questions to our Ministry of Internal Affairs to ask whether there were ever any signals against Mirchev, whether he was investigated or detained in our country. They replied that the only thing they can say at this point is that the Ministry of Interior does not comment on work with partner services on ongoing investigations.
Regarding Mirchev - currently, as it became clear, he is in Spanish custody. He was detained on April 8 of this year in Madrid. It remains to be seen whether and when he will be extradited to the US. We also asked the Spanish police for a comment, but we are still waiting for one.