Nearly 2 times more laboratories/areas for the production and cultivation of drugs and 896 pre-trial proceedings initiated, reports the Specialized Interdepartmental Unit of the Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Interior
Nearly 2 times more laboratories/areas for the production and cultivation of narcotic substances were discovered in July 2025 – 40, compared to the previous month, when there were 22.
Over 1 ton of cannabis and 465 kg of marijuana were seized in the period July 1-31, 2025, according to the monthly analysis of data on the work of the Specialized Interdepartmental Unit between the Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Interior to support the investigation of this type of crime.
For crimes related to the production, processing, acquisition, possession and distribution of narcotic substances, 785 people were detained. 596 specialized police operations were conducted, and 896 pre-trial proceedings were initiated.
Among the more typical cases is a pre-trial proceeding in which 6 fields with 526 cannabis plants were discovered in the Ograzhden Mountain. In the land of the village of Zoychene, Petrich Municipality, 2 fields were discovered, sown with a total of 330 plants with a total weight of 757 kg, which reacted to a field drug test for cannabis. During the same operation in the municipality of Petrich, in the land of the village of Krandzhilitsa a field with 55 plants with a total weight of 82.5 kg was discovered, and in the land of the village of Dragush 3 fields with 141 cannabis plants with a total weight of 245.5 kg were discovered.
In the line of countering illegal migration, 411 specialized operations were conducted and 51 third-country nationals illegally residing in Bulgaria were detained. 45 are the newly initiated pre-trial proceedings for illegal migration (for crimes under Art. 279; Art. 280 and Art. 281 of the Criminal Code). 99 people were detained for illegal smuggling across the border and assisting foreign citizens to reside or transit through the country.
In July 2025, 317 court acts entered into force for crimes related to narcotics, and 83 - for illegal smuggling across the border and unlawfully assisting foreign citizens to reside or transit through the country.
The specialized interdepartmental unit was established by a joint order between the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Ministry of Interior in August 2023 with the aim of supporting the investigation of specific types of crimes. One of its main activities is monitoring the initiated and conducted pre-trial proceedings.