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

Cocaine worth over 400 thousand leva seized near Simitli

Photo: Facebook/gdbop.bg

A specialized police operation by the Directorate of the Bulgarian Anti-Drug and Drug Enforcement Administration (GDBOP) uncovered an organized crime group operating in the Blagoevgrad region, related to the distribution of narcotics. 

5 kg of cocaine worth over 400 thousand leva were seized, 7 people were charged, 5 of them were detained for 72 hours, BGNES reported. 

One of the detainees is Ognyan Atanasov, called by journalists "the Bulgarian Escobar". In 2019, Atanasov received a 15-year sentence from the Court of Appeal in Thessaloniki for importing, trafficking and selling drugs in Greece. He was transferred to serve his sentence in Bulgaria. At the end of 2022, he was pardoned and released from prison, BNT reports.



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

85 folk ensembles to participate in the "Sparks from the Past" festival in Apriltsi

A total of 85 folk ensembles from across the country will participate in the "Sparks from the Past" festival, which will take place in the mountain town of Apriltsi on July 26 and 27. The open-air stage for the performances will be set up at..

published on 7/26/25 5:45 AM

Red heat alert issued for 12 Bulgarian districts, orange code alert in effect for the rest of the country

On Saturday, it will be sunny and even hotter. In the afternoon, clouds will form over the mountainous regions of Western Bulgaria, and by the evening, also in the northwestern areas. Isolated thunderstorms and rain showers are expected in some..

published on 7/25/25 6:25 PM

President: Pogrom on the Constitution will continue to distort political life

The flaws in the Constitution, admitted by the government of the GERB-SDS and PP-DB coalition with the support of the DPS in 2023, were not removed by the Constitutional Court. That is how President Rumen Radev commented on the fact that yesterday the..

published on 7/25/25 5:46 PM