Wife of Bulgarian Drug Lord Pleads with Daughter's Abductors

The former wife of alleged Bulgarian drug lord Evelin Banev aka Brendo has pleaded with the abductors of their daughter, begging them to call her on the phone.

Monika Dobrinova pleaded for her 10-year-old daughter's safe return on Friday in an interview for the state-owned TV channel BNT.

"I don't trust the Bulgarian state and the Bulgarian police, they will not help me. I have to rely entirely and only on myself."

Addressing the abductors, she assured them she is ready to do everything they ask her and begged them to contact her.

"What happened was totally unexpected, we have never received any threats. If I was aware of this danger, I would have made sure that this does not happen.

"I want to appeal to the people, who abducted Lara, and tell them I just want to know whether she is alive and well, " said Dobrinova.

She explained that Lara is very vital and loving child and she certainly is going through hell now.

"She does not deserve this, she is just a child. I would do absolutely anything to get her back. For me, Lara was all. This is a nightmare, I trust neither the state nor the police. Please call me," Dobrinova said, turning once again to the kidnappers.

According to 24 Chassa (24 Hours) daily, if on Friday Brendo "behaves in the Milano courtroom as his business partners from Europe and South America are expecting from him," his abducted daughter could be back home as early as Saturday.

24 Hours also cites their own undisclosed sources saying Banev's silence before Italian magistrates is one of the main leads in the probe.

10-year-old Lara was abducted by masked gunmen at approximately 7:30 am on Tuesday in the affluent Sofia suburb of Boyana.

Her 36-year-old bodyguard was reportedly shot twice in the back.

The three masked gunmen who abducted the girl were allegedly driving a stolen BMW X5 vehicle.

Brendo was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison last month. He is being held in prison in Italy.

He was charged with heading an organized crime gang and money laundering.

His accomplices, Monika Dobrinova, Desislava Dishlieva and Simo Karaychev, received a 3-year suspended sentence with a five-year probation period.

Banev and the others are charged with laundering over EUR 2 M using a personal account belonging to Konstantin Dishliev, owner of a firm called Private Finance Union, who was killed in 2005.

Dobrinova is Brendo's ex wife, while Dishlieva is Dishliev's widow.

Banev has been known as Bulgaria's "cocaine king." He was born on October 9 1964 in the Black Sea city of Burgas.

Banev was arrested on May 16 2012 in the Black Sea town of Sozopol in an international special police operation codenamed Cocaine Kings, along with 15 other Bulgarians, 12 Italians, one Slovenian, one Romanian, and one Georgian.

In the aftermath of Banev's 2012 arrest, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, stated that Banev had an Interpol arrest warrant in Switzerland on charges of trafficking 10 tons of cocaine from South America to Europe and of money laundering.

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