The fight against the production and distribution of high-risk narcotics is a priority in the work of the prosecutor's office. This was stated by the deputy appellate prosecutor in Veliko Tarnovo Georgi Georgiev during a briefing on the investigation of two organized crime groups related to narcotics.
According to him, the results achieved in the operation a few days ago are a consequence of extremely good joint work between the District Prosecutor's Office - Ruse and the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime, focus-news.net specified.
"Intensive operational-search measures were carried out during the investigation, the entire toolkit of procedural and operational methods was used. "A confidential deal was made, undercover officers were also involved," the prosecutor's office said.
During the investigation, it was also established that there were two criminal groups operating in Ruse and Sofia.
One had five members, and the other had three.
The leaders of the groups have been charged with leading an organized criminal group, with the law providing for a penalty of “imprisonment“ from 5 to 15 years. The penalty for participants is lower. Another charge has also been raised - for possession of particularly large quantities of narcotics, and the law in this case again provides for imprisonment from 5 to 15 years.
Eight people were brought as defendants in pre-trial proceedings for participation in an organized criminal group, production and distribution of high-risk narcotics, the prosecutor's office announced.
Among the seized drugs is about 6 kilograms of fentanyl, the value of which is estimated at 157,682,400 euros, dariknews.bg indicated. The narcotics were produced in two buildings near the base of the Agricultural Academy in the capital's "Faculty" district, "Krasna Polyana" area.
The investigation is being monitored by the District Prosecutor's Office, since the crime was revealed by it. Under the leadership of the prosecutor's office, more than 20 searches and seizures were carried out in homes, warehouses and cars. Crime scene inspections were also conducted, numerous witnesses were questioned, and a number of expert reports were ordered in the case.
During the actions, which were carried out in coordination between the District Prosecutor's Office and the Directorate for the Prevention of Drug Trafficking, numerous pieces of material evidence related to the production of various types of narcotics were seized.
After analyzing the collected evidence, the prosecutor's office has charged eight people aged between 36 and 53. Two of them are accused of forming and leading an organized criminal group.
All the accused have been detained for 72 hours to be brought before the court. After the interrogations are completed, the prosecutor's office will submit a request to the court to determine measures to prevent each of them from being detained.
FOCUS recalls that a few days ago, the Directorate General of Drug Control broke up a large fentanyl production laboratory in the capital's "Fakulteta" district. The news was first announced by Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev. Later, the Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Interior Lyubomir Nikolov stated that the operational actions began back in April, when about 4 transactions for the distribution of the dangerous narcotic substance were seized.
"Production in the factory was carried out daily, with quantities between 6 and 10 kilograms. Enough quantity to supply the Bulgarian market. All the fentanyl that was distributed in our country came from this base. If this analysis is correct, I hope that there will be a shortage of the narcotic substance from tomorrow. And all drug addicts who use it should be in abstinence," Nikolov also said.
Georgiev explained that it took several days after the operation to coordinate the investigation, transport the detainees to Ruse, obtain the physical evidence and collect the necessary materials to prepare the requests for the imposition of preventive measures.
He pointed out that the prosecutor's office's attention to fentanyl was drawn after a case from July 2024, when a drug addict died in the yard of a kindergarten in Ruse after using the drug.
The investigation then established that part of the narcotic substance sold to the person, albeit in a small quantity, contained fentanyl, which caused his death.
"The prosecutor's office's attention to this case led to the separation of materials from a pre-trial proceeding in April 2026, to concentrated work together with the Directorate of Drug Control on the production and distribution of this type of drug and to the successful implementation of a few days ago," said Georgi Georgiev.
Following an inspection carried out in early April 2026, pre-trial proceedings were initiated on April 21 for two organized crime groups operating on the territory of the country, announced the Ruse District Prosecutor Radoslav Gradev.
According to him, after numerous intensive operational and investigative measures, the operation was carried out on July 31, 2026, and at present, the Ruse District Prosecutor's Office has filed charges and is conducting an investigation against both groups.
The first organized crime group consists of five people. V.V.M., 40 years old, was recruited as its leader. Participants in the group are L.S.L., 36 years old, S.P.S., 42 years old, S.P.T., 55 years old, and I.P.S. 41 years old.
The second group operated in the Ruse judicial district, and according to the prosecutor's office, had two leaders. One of them was the leader of the first group - V.V.M., who also led the group operating in Ruse and Sofia. The other leader was V.G.B., 53 years old. The other two participants were S.P.M., 42 years old, and N.L.K., 46 years old.
The leaders of both groups have been charged with leading an organized criminal group, for which the law provides for a penalty of 5 to 15 years in prison. Charges have also been filed for possession of large quantities of narcotics, and this crime is also punishable by 5 to 15 years in prison.
According to him, the investigation is being conducted by the Ruse District Prosecutor's Office, since the criminal activity was discovered on the territory of the city.
The prosecutor's office has filed requests for the determination of preventive measures against the accused. Five requests have been filed for the most severe measure of "detention in custody" for eight of the individuals. For two other individuals, "house arrest" has been requested, and for one, bail has been set.
"According to the causal contribution and cooperation during the investigation, we assessed that these measures are the most adequate", said Radoslav Gradev.