Notorious Bulgarian drug lord Zlatomir Ivanov aka Baretata (The Beret), who lapsed into coma after being shot in downtown Sofia in January, has recovered and has been released from hospital.

The discharge has happened two weeks ago, after doctors deemed him fully stable, but the official announcement was made Tuesday by the press office of Sofia's emergency Pirogov hospital, most likely due to the ongoing probe.

He is yet to undergo several hip surgeries.

On January 29, Ivanov was shot in broad daylight in the vicinity of the main courthouse in the Bulgarian capital as he was going there for an appeals hearing in an illegal drugs distribution case against him.

Ivanov survived the attack and was rushed to hospital.

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, he was sentenced to 8 years of jail time.