Authorities Launched Inspection into the Firearms Permits Issued to Ivaylo Kalushev and Individuals Associated with Him, in Connection with the “Petrohan” Case

Five rifles, two carbines, one handgun and two suppressors were part of the firearms arsenal for which Ivaylo Ivanov held a valid permit. The licence was issued by the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior in Montana in August 2021.

The same police authority also granted a firearms permit to Ivaylo Kalushev several months later. By order of the Minister of Interior, an inspection is now under way into how Kalushev, Ivanov and Nikolay Zlatkov obtained their weapons licences.

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Under Bulgarian law, any person over the age of 18 who is mentally fit, has no prior convictions for intentional crimes and has completed a certified weapons handling course may apply for a firearms permit.

“First, however, it must be clarified for what purposes the weapons were acquired. That is the main issue,” said Ventsislav Rangelov, former head of the Control of Generally Dangerous Means department at the Sofia Directorate of the Interior.

In August and November 2021, the association “National Agency for Control of Protected Areas” was not yet registered, meaning its activities could not be cited as justification for the firearms registered by Ivanov and Kalushev.

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“If they are private individuals, one could argue that such a quantity of weapons may be acquired for hunting purposes,” Rangelov explained.

At this stage, however, there is no evidence that either man possessed a hunting licence. Moreover, their stated activities were focused on nature protection and combating poaching rather than promoting hunting.

Part of Ivanov’s arsenal included a pump-action shotgun, automatic firearms and submachine guns, which are not classified as hunting weapons.

Ivanov obtained his permit in Montana due to his permanent address there. In October 2021, Kalushev also registered his permanent address in Montana, obtained a new identity card at that address and approximately two weeks later — on 1 November — received a firearms permit from the Montana Regional Directorate for two non-hunting pistols: a Glock and a Colt Anaconda - 44 calibre. Both are combat handguns.

“Within any administrative structure, the statutory deadline for issuing any document is one month,” Rangelov noted.

On 19 February 2024, then 19-year-old Nikolay Zlatkov obtained a permit for a Heckler & Koch pistol — a German-made weapon typically intended for police and military use.

Zlatkov’s pistol was one of the firearms found near the bodies of the three men close to the former Petrohan lodge. The other weapons discovered there belonged to Ivanov. Kalushev’s two pistols were found in the camper van at Okolchitsa.

Investigators are examining all possible scenarios, including murder and suicide, as well as potential motives.

“This requires very thorough work. It will not be completed in one, two or three weeks. Every detail in the investigation is important and will be preserved until the objective truth is established,” said Deputy Interior Minister Toni Todorov.

According to preliminary autopsy data, the shots fired inside the camper were discharged with the Colt Anaconda pistol owned by Kalushev.