Five people were detained in Plovdiv in a raid by GDBOP, Bulgaria's organised crime police, and now face charges of running an organised crime group for tax dodging and money laundering. Four men and one woman are among those charged. Plovdiv district prosecutors are supervising the case.

Police carried out the raid on September 24. They searched 16 addresses and vehicles across the city and searched five people.

Investigators seized four high-end cars, about 150,000 euros in cash, around 10kg of gold jewellery of various kinds, and investment gold. They also took notary deeds and receipts for money transfers.

The five face charges under Article 321 of the criminal code. All have been released on bail: 20,000 euros for one, 15,000 euros for a second, and 10,000 euros each for the other three.

GDBOP says the group has not paid any taxes since 2018. Investigators have yet to work out how much this has cost the state.