Under the leadership of the Prosecutor's Office, the Bulgarian Anti-Corruption Bureau conducted a specialized police operation on an international investigation into human trafficking from Bulgaria to Switzerland.
The action was carried out in response to a request for legal assistance. It was implemented in the town of Dolni Dabnik, Pleven region, on September 2, 2025. Representatives of the prosecutor's offices and judicial authorities of both countries, investigators from the National Investigation Service and police officers from the Pleven Regional Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs participated in it. It was carried out under the leadership of the International Department of the Supreme Cassation Prosecutor's Office.
The joint operation is a continuation of an investigation that began in 2022 against an organized criminal group created for the purpose of labor exploitation - trafficking of Bulgarian citizens to beg in Switzerland. Six Bulgarians, arrested in our country and in the partner country 3 years ago, have been convicted by the authorities in Geneva for human trafficking and money laundering. The sentences issued are up to 7 years in prison, the prosecutor's office reported.
It was established that they transferred dozens of Bulgarians from the Roma neighborhoods of cities in Northern Bulgaria, who were held in inhumane conditions, with the funds from their activities being transferred by the organizers of the channel to Bulgaria.
During the police operation, after collecting additional data on the case, 3 addresses of persons related to the organizers of the group were searched. Items, documents and information from electronic devices relevant to the proceedings were seized. Witnesses were questioned.