Bulgarian anti-organised crime squad seizes large arms caches in Sofia and Kazanluk
An arms cache including automatic rifles, pistols, large quantities of ammunition, silencers and other items has been seized in a special operation by the Chief Directorate against Organised Crime, Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry said on December 5.
The items were displayed at a news conference attended by Deputy Prosecutor-General Ivan Geshev, anti-organised crime squad head Commissioner Ivailo Spiridonov, investigating prosecutor Evgenia Stankova, as well as Prime Minister Boiko Borissov and Prosecutor-General Sotir Tsatsarov.
The weaponry was seized in Sofia and in Kazanluk in an operation carried out under the supervision of the Special Prosecutor’s Office, the Interior Ministry said.
The statement said that the amount of gunpowder found was sufficient to destroy an entire apartment block where it was stored in a warehouse.
In Kazanluk, the items seized included 15 Kalashnikov automatic rifles and 15 pistols with silencers. Also found in the operation were numerous forged personal identification documents, including fake Bulgarian passports.
Borissov said that the confiscated weaponry was “more than the special forces have”. He said that 40 000 rounds of ammunition had been counted so far, and the process was not yet over.
(Photos: Bulgarian Interior Ministry press centre)
