Bulgarian “air couriers” suspected of drug trafficking, were already located in 2021 in Portugal. Even then, the law enforcement agencies of the Iberian state showed interest in the legal entities – owners of two planes that landed without permission in the country. For a long time, there has been no development in the case of “air couriers”, but recently the Prosecutor’s Office announced that is looking for two people in connection with the “phantom plane“, which landed serenely between Targovishte and Shumen after crossing half of Europe. Until it became clear that the Prosecutor’s Office was looking for persons whose identities it did not want to disclose, it was clear that two separate investigative cases were being conducted (pre-trial proceedings in the National Criminal Investigation Service or the Criminal Investigation Service) in connection with two incidents with aircraft that were registered in recent years. One is in connection with the phantom plane – Piper PA-23-250 Aztec
since the beginning of June 2022, which crossed 6-7 European countries with two people on board. The aircraft departing from Lithuania, passing through Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania to land in Vidin and then be abandoned between Shumen and Targovishte. According to sources close to the investigation, the low-flying “vehicle” unloaded its valuable cargo in Vidin.
The other incident is in connection with a plane crash near the Sofia village of Mirkovo since August 2021, when the plane became entangled in the electrical network during a low flight “under the radar”. After the accident, authorities announced that the two victims of the crash were investigated or tried for drug crimes. За единият е официално потвърдено, че his family is from Mirkovo. BIRD sources revealed that both men who were on board the crashed aircraft are associated with the village of Mirkovo. One of them, Slavi, in the not so distant past was considered a “lieutenant” of Dimitar Dimitrov – the Monkey. The latter remained in history as one of the founders of VIS 2 and very close to the Iliev brothers, before he was liquidated in 2002 after a bomb attack. In the area, Slavi was well known to the law enforcement agencies. His mother worked in the General Directorate – Police at the beginning of the transition. Probably after the death of the Monkey, the Slavi in question went to Spain. Allegedly, he was in prison where he made serious contacts in organized crime. A few years ago, Slavi returned from Spain and lived in Mirkovo. In the accident, he was accompanied by a man known by the nicknames Little Jinkin or Jinkata. According to BIRD sources, it is about Miroslav Atanasov Maleev. За него се твърди, че е изтърпял наказание в гръцки затвор.
After the plane crash, two other people with ATVs also crashed, falling into an abyss, probably when trying to find the crashed plane or to rescue the cargo thrown out of it. In the accident, one of the two “operators” of the ATV died. He is also from Mirkovo. It is known about him that his mother is a municipal employee there.
Drug Charters
According to BIRD sources, there is evidence of repeated persons in both incidents, which leads investigators to hypothesize that they are the result of the actions of a criminal group engaged in drug trafficking. Подозренията са, че The group carries out “charters“, mainly carrying synthetic drugs and cannabis. Информираните източници твърдят, че дрогата лети през цяла Европа и не само. Преди около две години турските власти регистрираха няколко случаи на “ deliveries by air” from Bulgaria to Turkey of “synthetics”.
A detail that is not known to the general public is that several small planes of Bulgarian companies were detected during unregulated flights to Portugal. It turns out that Bulgarian citizens registered by the Portuguese in connection with the unregulated flights “appear” in the story of the “phantom” plane.
An aircraft abandoned between Shumen and Targovishte, according to BIRD sources, is owned by “Spiel-Key” Ltd. The company is registered at the address Sofia. Sofia, ul. Chrysanthemum 18-20. At the same address is registered ” Goumax” Ltd. “Spire-Key” was established in 2016 by Tanya Georgieva Parasheva – Pavlova. Впоследствие, през 2020, като собственик тя е заменена от Angel Kirilov Dimitrov. През 2021 г. собственик става Valeri Lyubenov Ivanov. Властите в Португалия са установили, че същата фирма е била собственик на a small plane that is probably linked to drug trafficking. В началото на 2021 г. два самолета са кацнали в Португалия на частен терен. Другият самолет е бил собственост на “ Mirakos Trade” EOOD, established in 2020 and registered in Sofia, at 38 Denkoglu Street, fl. 2, apt. 5.
None of the companies that bought the planes received permission to fly to Portugal. The planes landed on 25.02.2021 at Quinta do Monte da Saude in the city of Sofia. BenaventePortugal. The Judicial Police National Drugs Unit (PJ/UNCTE) should work on the case there. The aircraft are Piper brand, model Cherokee 6. With registration numbers G-NEAL and SE-GDV.
Most of the owners of the legal entities owning the aircraft bear the marks of “straw people”. To date, they are owners of companies with large debts to the NRA.
Key in this story is the figure of Dimitar Lyubenov Dimitrov. Мъжът е свързан със задлъжнялата според регистрите “ Coin factors” Ltd. He was briefly the owner of the company, but he and his partner transferred their shares to Alexandrina Angelova. Димитров участва и в няколко заличени дружества. Той е сочен за лицето, което уж случайно снабдил с гориво “самолета фантом”- Piper PA-23-250 Aztec in Hungary.
The man was identified by the Hungarian police. He explained to them that he had gone to look for a job in Germany, but he was mistaken, he ended up in Poland. He was on his way back to Bulgaria and a man in broken Bulgarian asked him to take 2 cans of gasoline to the airport in Hungary for 100 euros. Dimitrov left Bulgaria on 02.06.2022 at the same time as Svetoslav Nikolaev Stanchev. The latter is also not unknown to law enforcement agencies. He landed on one of the “Bulgarian” planes in Portugal in February 2021. Dimitrov crosses the border by car, and Stanchev as a pedestrian, but then they probably continue together.
As organizers of the scheme with the planes, two brothers from Stara Zagora with a regional security business are involved. In the past, they were considered close to the late Anton Petrov – the Hamster. On the other hand, there are at least two other groups with a similar subject of action in Bulgaria. One of these groups smuggles “valuable shipments” by helicopter, the other specializes in transporting heroin from Turkey by drone. It was relevant a few years ago.
Lead photo: Forensic laboratory employees inspect the site of the phantom plane in June 2022 (Withtopframe: bTV)
Материалът The Bulgarian “Air Narco” from Portugal to Turkey е публикуван за пръв път на BIRD.
