Crime boss wanted in Georgia re-arrested in Spain

A Georgian crime boss was re-arrested in Spain Sunday, five days after he was released from custody by a Spanish court, the website of the newspaper El Mundo said in an unsourced report.
Kalashov, considered by authorities as one of the main leaders of the Eastern European mafia, is wanted in his home country and El [...]

Christy Kinahan refused bail in Costa del Sol ‘Irish Mafia’ case

Both his sons are have also been sent to prison on remand
The man who is the head of the so-called ‘Irish Mafia’ on the Costa del Sol, 53 year old Christopher ‘Christy’ Kinahan, who was arrested as part of a large police operation on Tuesday last week, has been remanded to custody and denied bail [...]

Key Bulgarian Mafia Bosses Revealed to Be Former Policemen

Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry has presented a list of top alleged mafia bosses who served in police structures in the past.
The inspection was carried out by the Information and Archives Directorate and Human Resources Directorate over recent media claims that some of the top gangsters were collaborators of the Interior Ministry.
It has been revealed that only [...]

Ex Bulgaria Interior Minister Slammed over ‘Octopus’ Behavior

The Director of Bulgaria’s Customs Agency, Gen. Vanyo Tanov, has stated that he is surprised by the behavior of former Interior Minister Rumen Petkov regarding the special police operation ‘Octopus’.
Tanov, who is also the Ex Chief of the Unit for Fighting Organized Crime (GDBOP), questioned Petkov’s reported reasons for meeting mafia bosses – The Galevi [...]

Bulgaria Police Bust Organized Crime Group in ‘Octopus’ Special Operation

Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry has detained members of a large-scale organized crime group in Sofia in a special operation codenamed “Octopus” carried out overnight.
Bulgaria’s Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov announced early Wednesday morning that the special operation codenamed “Octopus” started as an inspection of night clubs in Sofia and grew into a full-fledged raid including a number [...]

What’s Cracking (down on) in Bulgaria? Organized Crime?

Bulgaria’s current Prime Minister Boyko Borisov led his GERB party to a sweeping elections victory in the summer of 2009 running on an anti-corruption, anti-organized crime ticket. With his background in the Interior Ministry services and the security business, and his superhero image, he has raised huge expectations he would clear up much of the [...]