Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Notorious drug trafficker apprehended in Ukraine

Evelin Banev, aka Brendo
Photo: BGNES, archive

Evelin Banev, aka Brendo has been detained in Ukraine, the Interior Ministry has confirmed.

He was last seen at a sitting of the Sofia Appellate Court in September 2015. Brendo was apprehended in this country in 2012 and handed over to the Italian authorities to be tried in Milan. However, Italy allowed him to return to Sofia temporarily to attend his Bulgarian trial. Since then he has been convicted in absentia by an Italian court to 20 years of imprisonment, by a Romanian court – to 10.5 years of imprisonment, and also by a Bulgarian court for money laundering and cocaine trafficking. Last year Switzerland also brought charges against him or money laundering – around USD 39 million from drugs via Credit Suisse. Brendo will remain in detention in Ukraine for 20 days after which the Bulgarian prosecutor’s office has the right to request his extradition. 



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Bulgaria to build balancing power plants in the Balkans

Increasing energy connectivity between countries in the region of Southeast Europe will reduce electricity prices, increase competitiveness and security of supply . This was stated by Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov at the Energy Summit, organized by the..

published on 2/26/25 10:36 AM

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev speaks with representatives of the Vietnamese community in Bulgaria

The common will and economic potential of the two countries are important prerequisites for the upward development of bilateral relations, said President Rumen Radev at a meeting with the Ambassador of Vietnam Do Hoang Long . The meeting was also..

published on 2/26/25 10:15 AM
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev (right) and the secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization Zurab Pololikashvili

The Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization visits Bulgaria

The prospects for developing the significant potential of tourism in Bulgaria were discussed at a meeting between the Bulgarian Head of State Rumen Radev and the Secretary-General of the UN World Tourism Organization Zurab Pololikashvili. The..

published on 2/26/25 9:15 AM