site.btaPolice Bust Illegal Amphetamine Lab, Detain Three Dutch Nationals

A large drug laboratory in the village of Vrani Kon, Northeastern Bulgaria, was busted on Saturday. Targovishte District Prosecutor Dilyana Stoyanova said during a press conference on Sunday that synthesis of amphetamine was underway, when the laboratory was broken into during the raid, organized by the General Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (GDCOC) with the Ministry of Interior and the State Agency for National Security (SANS).

GDCOC Deputy Director Dimitar Kangaldzhiev and Nedyalko Petrov of SANS also took part in the press conference.

The Targovishte District Prosecution Service is leading an investigation into the laboratory. Three Dutch nationals have been detained for up to 72 hours for their alleged involvement with the organized group responsible for the production of narcotics.

Two of the suspects were arrested at the scene while in the process of synthesizing amphetamine, while the third was detained in a village near Burgas, on the Black Sea. Canisters of precursors were found in the laboratory. The police seized over 500 kilogrammes of precursors, whose type remains to be established.

Proving the criminal activity of the organized group continues under the supervision of the Targovishte District Prosecution Service.

Petrov told reporters that a year ago information was received about Dutch nationals planning to build a drug lab in Bulgaria.