Expats

Bulgaria's 'Octopus' Was Close with Ex Top Prosecutor [Oct 15, 2010] Former undercover agent Aleksei Petrov, aka "the Octopus" or "the Tractor", who is under investigation for organized crime activities, was revealed to have had close connection with Bulgaria's former Chief Prosecutor Nikola Filchev. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Interior, Judiciary Draw Daggers Yet Again [Oct 14, 2010] The ongoing war between Bulgaria's Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov and the judiciary saw new bloody clashes in the wake of a court ruling to release from jail ex undercover agent Aleksei Petrov, aka "The Octopus" or "The Tractor". [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Rightists: Octopus Brought back Turkish Politician Death Case (Novinite.com) [Feb 24, 2010] New facts and evidence emerged during the high-profile police operation condemned ?Octopus,? the member of Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB), Atanas Atanasov says. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Police Search 'Octopus' Dambovtsi Brothers' Offices (Novinite.com) [Feb 19, 2010] Bulgaria?s Unit for Combating Organized Crime (GDBOP) has been involved in 2 searches Friday of the offices of Plamen and Yordan Stoyanovi aka the Dambovtsi Brothers, who were recently arrested in the ?Octopus? operation. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Interior Minister Is Confident about 'Octopus' Evidence (Novinite.com) [Feb 19, 2010] Bulgaria Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov has declared his confidence in the evidence collected against Aleksei Petrov and Marcelo Dzholotov. Both men were detained behind bars by the Sofia Court of Appeal on Thursday, for their alleged criminal activities in the "Octopus" group. [via YahooNews] More >>

Die Presse: Aleksei Petrov - Mysterious Figure from Bulgaria's Transition (Novinite.com) [Feb 18, 2010] Former undercover agent Aleksei Petrov, who was nabbed within an operation, dubbed the Octopus, is one of the most striking and mysterious figures from Bulgaria's dramatic twenty-year transition from socialism to market economy, writes the German Die Presse in a report from Sofia. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Interior Minister Wants 12 Years in Jail for Octopus Gangsters (Novinite.com) [Feb 18, 2010] Bulgaria?s Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, demands at least 12-year sentences for each of the members of the ?Octopus? mafia ring. [via YahooNews] More >>

Busted Bulgaria Ex Secret Agent Wants Meeting with US Ambassador (Novinite.com) [Feb 17, 2010] Aleksei Petrov, former secret agent who was arrested recently in the ?Octopus? police operation, has requested a meeting with US Ambassador to Bulgaria, James Warlick. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Top Prosecutor: No Political Cover-up in Mafia Case (Novinite.com) [Feb 16, 2010] Bulgaria's Chief Prosecutor, Boris Velchev, defined Tuesday ?Octopus? as one of the most complex and difficult cases that should provide answers about who had allowed such large-scale criminal activity. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Top Prosecutor: No Political Cover-up in Mafia Case (Novinite.com) [Feb 16, 2010] Bulgaria's Chief Prosecutor, Boris Velchev, declared the authorities have already collected sound evidence in the high-profile case, codenamed ?Octopus.? [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Interior Minister Confirms Octopus - Impudent Ties (Novinite.com) [Feb 16, 2010] Bulgaria's Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, says The Impudent and The Octopus gangs are connected. Photo by BGNES [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Ex Chief Prosecutor to Be Interrogated over 'Octopus' Mafia Case (Novinite.com) [Feb 15, 2010] Bulgaria?s former Chief Prosecutor, Nikola Filchev, will be interrogated over the so called organized crime investigation ?Octopus.? [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria PM: War Means Survival of Fittest (Novinite.com) [Feb 11, 2010] Bulgaria PM Boris Borisov commented on the possibility of retaliation for the recent 'Octopus' police operation, by saying it was a war, and that only the fittest survived. [via YahooNews] More >>

US Ambassador Lauds Bulgaria Police for 'Octopus' Operation (Novinite.com) [Feb 11, 2010] US Ambassador to Bulgaria, James Warlick, has welcomed the Bulgarian Government?s arrests in Wednesday?s police operation codenamed ?Octopus.? [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Top Cop: 'Octopus' Is Not Personal Vendetta (Novinite.com) [Feb 10, 2010] Bulgaria's Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, firmly denies media reports and claims of the opposition that the special police operation, codenamed ?Octopus? is a personal vendetta. [via YahooNews] More >>

Wanted Bulgaria Top 'Octopus' Criminal Turns Himself in (Novinite.com) [Feb 10, 2010] Bulgaria's alleged top criminal, Anton Petrov aka The Hamster, wanted in connection with the special police operation ?Octopus,? has turned himself in. [via YahooNews] More >>

10 Men Arrested by Bulgaria Police in 'Octopus' Special Operation (Novinite.com) [Feb 10, 2010] This has been announced by the Chief Secretary of Bulgaria?s Interior Ministry Kalin Georgiev shortly before 8 am Wednesday, about an hour after Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov made an announcement about the Octopus operation. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Police Bust Organized Crime Group in 'Octopus' Special Operation (Novinite.com) [Feb 10, 2010] 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. [via YahooNews] More >>