Three Bulgarian citizens were detained in a raid by SANS and the Ministry of Interior in the Vratsa region in May 2025. According to the report on the state of national security, they spread far-right ideology and calls for violence on the Internet. The detainees were identified as followers of the neo-Nazi organization The Base, known in Bulgarian as “The Core“.
The information is included in the report approved by the government and represents the first public mention of activists of the organization detained in Bulgaria. The publicly announced data does not contain the names of the three. During the raid, actions were carried out in the Vratsa region, and during the investigation, computers were seized and data was checked for recruiting new members in online groups. It was previously reported that at this stage no evidence of terrorist attacks being prepared has been found.
The organization is on the EU terrorist list
The Base was founded in 2018 by former FBI agent Rinaldo Nazaro. The network is associated with neo-Nazi and accelerator ideology, paramilitary training, and calls for the violent overthrow of the existing social order. Since 2020, Nazaro has been leading its activities from St. Petersburg.
The Council of the European Union included The Base in the list of individuals, groups and organizations associated with terrorist acts in July 2024. The organization operates decentralized cells that use the Internet for propaganda, communication and attracting followers.
A German neo-Nazi was also checked
The same report states that the National Security Agency (DANS) found a German neo-Nazi in Veliko Tarnovo. He was extradited. No further details about his identity or his connection to those detained in Vratsa have been released.
“In this case, we see a group that is driven by an international terrorist organization that operated on the territory of European countries“, cyber expert Yavor Kolev stated.The case remains related to the dissemination of radical ideology and calls for violence online. Data on sentences handed down or finalized criminal proceedings against the three detainees have not been publicly announced in the information about the operation.
Sources: 24chasa.bg, nova.bg, 168chasa.bg