Notorious Bulgarian drug lord Zlatomir Ivanov aka The Beret, who was shot last Tuesday in downtown Sofia, is in a state of medically-induced coma, according to local media.

Ivanov's lawyer, Mariyana Todorova, has told reporters that she hopes her client would recover. She has also stated that he has not been in contact with anyone.

Ivanov was shot in broad daylight in the vicinity of the main courtroom building in the Bulgarian capital on Tuesday as he was going there for an appeals hearing in an illegal drugs distribution case against him.

Zlatomir Ivanov was arrested on February 7, 2009, after he turned himself in to Bulgaria's National State Security Agency DANS. He was charged with organizing and leading an organized crime group dealing with drug distribution and murders.

In 2012, Baretata was sentenced to 8 years of jail time.