The Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Interior, the National Revenue Agency (NRA) and the General Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (GDBOP), with the assistance of international partner services, have dismantled an organised criminal group engaged in the smuggling of Chinese goods, which has caused losses exceeding BGN 30 million to the state budget.
A total of 24 individuals have been detained during the operation, which took place on Tuesday in Sofia and other locations across the country.
“The organised criminal group was involved in tax crimes and the smuggling of Chinese goods. The scheme is known as ‘Chinese cargo’, where the payment of customs duties and VAT is evaded through the manipulation of tax and customs documents,” explained Senior Commissioner Yordan Peshev, Deputy Director of GDBOP.
According to him, the volume of goods involved was enormous, suggesting that they were likely distributed both through online platforms and in physical retail outlets.
Deputy Sofia City Prosecutor Desislava Petrova summarised the mechanism of the scheme:
“We believe the group controlled a supply channel for Chinese goods intended for the Bulgarian market. The goods — clothing, bags, shoes, household products and others — were shipped directly from manufacturers in China to the port of Piraeus, Greece, and from there transported by lorries to Bulgaria. To avoid paying the full amount of customs duties and VAT, the import of these goods was documented through commercial companies controlled by the group, using falsified or forged documents, or documents containing false information.”
According to Petrova, the group has likely been operating since the beginning of 2023.
“The investigation currently covers the period from early 2023 to the present. The exact financial damage to the state is still being established, but we estimate it to be in excess of BGN 30 million,” she said.
The prosecution confirmed that four of the detained individuals are believed to be leaders of the criminal organisation.
The large-scale operation involved 60 investigative police officers, 40 police teams, employees of the National Revenue Agency, and was coordinated by five supervising prosecutors from the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office.
Over 100 investigative actions were carried out, including 90 searches and seizures at various sites, as well as crime scene inspections and personal searches. Most of these were conducted with prior judicial authorisation, and those carried out under urgent circumstances were subsequently approved by the court.
A substantial quantity of physical evidence was seized during the operation, including numerous mobile phones, documents, notebooks, invoices, cash registers, debit cards, wristwatches, and cash totalling over BGN 300,000 in both lev and euro.
In the late hours of 14 October, eight individuals have been formally charged with participation in an organised criminal group formed for profit and for the commission of tax offences and money laundering.
Prosecutors are expected to request pre-trial detention for five of the accused. Two suspects remain at large, and one has been released on bail due to a severe health condition preventing custody.
Among those charged are both Bulgarian and foreign nationals. Evidence collected so far identifies four ringleaders and four active participants in the criminal structure.
The investigation, launched in July 2025, has already gathered a vast amount of factual material, including testimonies from anonymous witnesses. Tax audits are also forthcoming.
Following a comprehensive analysis of the evidence, the prosecution may expand the scope of the charges — both in relation to the number of offences and the individuals involved.
“At this stage, we have grounds to believe that the group has been operating over an extended period of time,” the prosecution concluded.
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