Police seized more than 5 kg of marijuana in raids on drug dealers in the Mladost and Botunets districts of Sofia and detained three men. Nikolay Peltekov, director of the Sofia police directorate (SDVR) and a chief commissioner, announced this at a briefing at the directorate's headquarters.
Searches at two addresses in Mladost turned up about 5 kg of marijuana and 0.5 grams of cocaine.
On 3 November, officers from SDVR's Specialised Police Forces unit checked a 26-year-old man in Mladost 2. He has a criminal record and a conviction for drug dealing, and is serving a suspended sentence. A search of his person found a bag of plant matter.
A search of a home in the same district turned up electronic scales and a jar of plant matter. The marijuana at that address weighs about 60 grams.
The second raid in Mladost was carried out by teams from the same unit and SDVR's Narcotics section. They detained a 33-year-old man who rents a home in the district. He has a conviction for possessing drugs for sale and is known to the Interior Ministry for offences under Articles 216, 195 and 354a of the Criminal Code. Investigators say he sold large amounts of drugs in Sofia.
At his home, officers found about €1,700, two working electronic scales and a vacuum machine. They also found many bags of plant matter, a slab of resinous substance and a zip bag of white lumpy substance. Police also took three mobile phones and a fake ID document.
Both Mladost men were held for up to 24 hours under the Interior Ministry Act. After police reported to the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office, they were ordered held in custody for up to 72 hours, Peltekov and prosecutor's office spokesman Nikolay Nikolaev told the briefing.
In Botunets at about 10.30pm last night, officers from the Fifth District Police Department, who were on patrol, stopped a man on an electric scooter. They found plastic bags of green plant matter on him and in a hollow in the scooter's handlebar. The man himself said it was marijuana.
At the man's home, police seized 35 plastic bags of green plant matter and electronic scales. Pre-trial proceedings have been opened under Article 354a, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code, and police are holding him for up to 24 hours.
Police are due to report the Botunets case to the prosecutor's office.