Balgarianovinite.com An international operation aimed at combating a criminal group selling dietary supplements advertised as medicines that cure serious illnesses is underway, Sofia City Prosecution Office (SCPO) announced on Thursday. The operation is led and supervised by the SCPO.
The group has generated profits amounting to EUR 240 million through criminal activities. On May 12, prosecutors and law enforcement officials from 15 countries, including Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Moldova, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain, carried out an operation with the assistance of Eurojust and Europol.
In Bulgaria, over 30 searches were carried out in homes, office premises, and motor vehicles, individuals were searched, and numerous witnesses were interviewed. A large amount of evidence was found and seized, which is to be analysed.
The operation was launched after a former health minister alerted the SCPO, reporting that his name and image were being used in false advertisements of products of unclear origin that were supposedly medicine. During the investigation, several pre-trial proceedings were consolidated, including a doctor’s report in the capital. Numerous witnesses were interviewed, and an international element was identified in the case. Following the proceedings, the supervising prosecutor from the SCPO concluded an agreement to establish a joint investigation team with Romania, Poland, Hungary, and Moldova.
Based on the joint agreement, an international operation was carried out that same day in various cities across Bulgaria by investigators from the SCPO’s investigation department and other investigation services, as well as officers from the Cybercrime Directorate at Bulgaria’s General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and the Sofia Directorate of Internal Affairs. With the permission of the SCPO, representatives of Europol and police officers from the countries participating in the joint team were also present during the on-site operations.
The investigation into the case is ongoing.
Romanian authorities, in cooperation with European partners, have dismantled an international network dealing in fake medicines and supplements. The central warehouse was discovered in Bulgaria, the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), the law enforcement agency of the Romanian government tasked with investigating and prosecuting organized crime, drug trafficking, cybercrime, financial crimes, and terrorism-related offenses, announced earlier today. In Romania, 250,000 boxes of tablets and bottles containing various substances falsely advertised as food supplements or alternatives to medicines were seized. The average selling price was EUR 35 per item. A total of 196 websites used to promote and sell the products were blocked. International Operation Targeting Network Selling Fake Medicines and Supplements Ongoing in Bulgaria 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-05-14 15:46:22 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law