The Interior Ministry of Bulgaria has arrested 50 people so far in a nationwide operation still underway titled “Shock” that is aimed at stolen vehicles, smuggled goods and people wanted by various governments.
Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov ordered the operation and it is being carried out by regional police, the Chief Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (CDCOC), and Europol in cooperation with Bulgaria’s Euro-Atlantic Partners. The Sofia news agency, Novinite, is reporting that Italian officials are cooperating.
Reports say that five people, allegedly part of an organized crime group, were detained in the Kyustendil Province for involvement in cybercrime related activities.
Most of the arrests that began Tuesday night occurred within Bulgaria, though five were made in neighboring EU states, according to the Focus Information Agency.
Bulgaria is slated for future accession to the Schengen Agreement, which allows citizens of EU-member countries to travel freely across borders without a passport. Focus quoted Tsvetanov as saying “Shock” shows Bulgaria’s ability to uphold regional security.
UPDATE:
A total of 61 people have now been arrested across Europe by European and US law enforcement agencies in an international operation involving over 5,000 police officers. Operation ‘Shock’ as codenamed by Bulgarian authorities uncovered and dismantled an international organized crime ring that ran credit card scams across Europe.
Forty Seven of the suspects were apprehended in Bulgaria, nine in Italy, two in Spain, two in the United States and one in Poland. The group is reported to have links with organized crime groups in Kenya, South Africa, and the United States.
Europol is quoted saying that this group was "one of the largest criminal gangs known to have been active in this field in the last five years". It is estimated that the crime group copied or “skimmed” more than 15,000 credit cards, making more than €50,000 and are suspected of being active since 2008.
Credit card fraud is common in Europe, and it is estimated that organized crime groups make more than €1.5 billion annually in the EU alone.
Italy has issued a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) for five of the suspects in custody in the Kyustendil Province in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian government is currently deciding whether to extradite them.
In a press conference on the operation on Wednesday, EU and US ambassadors and representatives of Europol stated that the real fight against these crimes is just starting.
Despite the success of the operation, Bulgaria may face difficulty becoming a member of the Schengen Agreement, as the government’s ability to fight organized crime is being called into question by other member states.
