For two weeks, the area around the former "Osogovo" mines above Kyustendil has continued to be under increased security due to the drug laboratory discovered in the mines on April 27 during an operation by the Directorate of the Bulgarian National Anti-Drug Police and the National Security Agency.
Police officers seconded by the Kyustendil Regional Directorate and gendarmerie are on duty around the clock, BNR learned from its sources.
The facilities are located at about 1,500 meters above sea level, and the only access passes through the village of Garlyano. Traffic on the road has not been stopped - even trucks with a fraction for road infrastructure repairs in other areas are moving, local people comment. The investigation is being carried out under heightened security measures, and the perimeter remains closed to outsiders.
As the Bulgarian National Radio reported, during the operation at the end of April, over 67 kg of marijuana, over 600 rounds of ammunition and nearly 600,000 euros in cash were found at an address in Kyustendil. So far, three people have been detained, one of whom is under house arrest. The investigation, which will apparently continue for weeks due to the complex location of the approximately 20 mining galleries, is being conducted under the supervision of the State Police, and the investigating prosecutor is from Kyustendil.
Nothing has been officially announced yet despite the great public interest.
The lead and zinc mine "Osogovo" was closed about thirty or ten years ago. The receiver has sold off the existing capacities of a private company to a well-known Kyustendil resident, whose name has also not been officially announced, but is well known in Kyustendil.