Twelve people were arrested for the illegal export of goods with possible dual use for the Russian special forces in Ukraine in Sofia on Tuesday, which was carried out in coordination between the Interior Ministry, the Prosecutor’s Office, and the State Agency for National Security (SANS).
Those arrested included Bulgarians, Russians, a Belarusian citizen, a Greek citizen, and an Albanian citizen.
“The owner of the company is a Greek citizen, born in Georgia, the accountant is from Kazakhstan, a Russian with four or five passports is the manager, and a second Russian organised the logistics. The third Russian has a permanent residence permit in Hungary. There is a Belarusian and an Albanian in the group,” the head of counterintelligence (SANS) Plamen Tonchev said.
According to SANS data, the criminal group was engaged in the export of goods that were intended for the special Russian units in Ukraine – Rosgvardia, military intelligence, “Wagner” and Chechen fighters.
During the searches, optical sights and binoculars were found, but there is evidence that the criminal group operating in Bulgaria sent software products, aviation radios and ballistic metres.
The Bulgarian authorities claim that these products are not intended for the regular Russian army but for the special forces fighting on the territory of Ukraine.
According to the data collected during the investigation, the company for which the suspects worked bought goods for about €2 million. The goods were packed in the city of Plovdiv, and then sent to Sofia airport, from where they were exported to Turkey and Russia.
Some of the suspects were detained at the airport in Sofia before flying to Russia, and the searches and questioning of witnesses continue.
The members of the group bought goods from the EU but also worked with counterparts in third countries such as the UK, Switzerland, Serbia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.
“As a member of the European Union and NATO, Bulgaria has its commitments to comply with the sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation after the start of the war against Ukraine,” Deputy Prosecutor General Maria Pavlova said.
She congratulated the Bulgarian security services, which fulfilled their duties in controlling the trade in goods with possible dual use and detected the activities of the suspects.
The head of counterintelligence, Plamen Tonchev, admitted that the operation was coordinated with foreign services.
“The campaign started at Sofia airport, five people were detained there. In this critical situation, we did not create a commotion at the airport. In addition, the operation was conducted in an extremely complex international environment, referring to both the war in Ukraine and the events in the Middle East. In this way, the Bulgarian security services and the prosecutor’s office show that they are a reliable partner“, Tonchev said.
(Krassen Nikolov | Euractiv.bg)
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