Bulgaria's General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GDCOC) has dismantled a fentanyl laboratory that supplied the entire country, according to a statement the agency gave to the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). The lab was located in the Sofia suburb of Filipovtsi.
Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said in a Facebook post that authorities had shut down a fentanyl production lab, that the main producers had been arrested, that charges would be filed, and that further arrests were expected. He said the lab held advanced, high-tech equipment and that the operation was carried out under strict safety measures because of the risk from fumes. He said every such operation means fewer drugs on the streets and greater safety for children, and that the fight against drug trafficking must focus on specific action against producers and dealers. He praised the GDCOC for the operation's success and said the whole of state power would pursue drug traffickers, calling this the clear instruction of Prime Minister Rumen Radev.
Officials describe scale of production
Interior Ministry Secretary General Lyubomir Nikolov told a press briefing on Tuesday, August 4, that all the fentanyl distributed in Bulgaria had come from this lab. If that is confirmed, he said, the country could face a shortage of the substance from Wednesday. Nikolov said no fentanyl had been seized entering or leaving the country and said he hoped no other lab producing the substance existed. He said the facility contained precursor substances and finished fentanyl, with a production capacity of 6 to 10 kilograms a day. Authorities have worked the case since April, and Nikolov said one participant in the production had learned to make fentanyl through online applications.
Seven arrests, ownership under review
Three people, aged 42 and 53 and with criminal records linked to drugs, were arrested trying to leave the scene by car. Four more people were arrested at other locations across the country as part of the operation. Nikolov said the group operated in complete secrecy with an extensive network of distributors, and that everyone involved in the distribution chain had been identified. He said cadastral records show the facility belongs to the Sofia Municipality, and that lease documents exist but require further investigation.
