Bulgaria has detained 35 suspects in a network that trafficked heritage artefacts in Europe. Damage over $1 billion
Ancient artifacts seized in an operation in which authorities from several countries dismantled a network trafficking stolen cultural goods in Europe, Bulgarian authorities announced. Photo: AP / AP / Profimedia
Bulgaria has detained 35 people suspected of being part of a criminal network involved in the large-scale trafficking of cultural goods in Europe, the BTA agency reported on Thursday, citing the head of the organized crime unit, according to Reuters.
“We conducted 131 searches. In 24 hours, 35 people were detained, we found thousands of heritage items – their number continues to grow – and more than 50 vintage firearms,” said Boyan Raev, head of the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GDBOP), in a press briefing, according to BTA.
He said international searches, coordinated by Bulgaria in cooperation with Europol and Eurojust, were carried out on Thursday, as a result of which cars, safes and other assets were seized.
The criminal network had been operating for more than 16 years in Western Europe, the Balkans, the United States and other regions, Sofia's deputy chief prosecutor Angel Kanev said at the same briefing.
“So far, more than one billion dollars have been identified in the money laundering file,” he said.
The investigation began after a 2020 house search in Bulgaria in which police seized around 7,000 cultural artefacts of inestimable historical and financial value, Europol said in a statement.
