Four Bulgarian citizens have been detained near the Greek city of Farsala in the southern part of Thessaly on suspicion of participating in a criminal group that was engaged in kidnapping, trafficking and exploitation of Bulgarians. This was reported by the Greek state television ERT, BTA reports.
According to information from investigators, the detainees - two men aged 26 and 48 and two women aged 24 and 44 - held their compatriots against their will and forced them to work on farms.
The investigation began last week after a 112 call from two Bulgarian citizens who requested help without being able to specify their whereabouts. The police found them in the Farsala area. They told law enforcement that a week earlier, in search of work, they had contacted a fellow Bulgarian through an online application. He and his accomplice transported them to Greece, where their personal documents were taken away.
The two were subsequently placed with four other Bulgarians, who also told the police that they had come to work, but had not been paid and had lived in difficult conditions.
A Bulgarian woman has separately reported that in December 2025 she was kidnapped from her native village in Bulgaria and taken by car to Greece. According to her, the kidnappers forcibly prevented her from contacting her relatives. The woman also claims that she was sexually assaulted by the 48-year-old detainee, as well as by an elderly man who paid for it.
The suspects were arrested on February 21. During their arrest, the victims' personal documents were found in their possession. The investigation is ongoing.