Send to Kindle
Sofia's alleged new top drug boss Hristo (Itso) Baykov. Photo by the 24 Chasa daily
Rising Bulgarian drug lord, Hristo (Itso) Baykov, has been charged with extortion and racketeering after he was arrested in a special operation a day earlier.
Baykov, who was described by recent media reports as a ruthless mafia boss trying to take over Sofia's drug market, is said to have tried to extort BGN 25 000 from a Sofia construction entrepreneur.
He will be kept in the arrest for 72 hours, until Monday, when the Prosecutor's Office will request his permanent detention.
Of the three other men, Baykov's guards, who were arrested with him on Friday, two are kept behind bars on charges of illegal weapon possession and drug possession, and one has been released on bail.
In a Friday interview for the TV channel bTV, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, said if there was any police cover-up for Baykov it had been on the level of a district precinct only, and vowed strong sanctions against any policeman involved in it, upon collection of sound evidence.
Earlier this week, the Bulgarian 24 Chasa daily published a report describing Baykov as the new top leader of the drug market in Sofia who was aggressively conquering more and more territories in the Bulgarian capital.
The report stressed the fact that he would seek to scare off his competition by claiming to be paying both the Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor's Office, thus becoming "untouchable."
The paper also published photos from one of Baykov's visits to a bar in the Belite Brezi quarter in Sofia where the alleged drug boss's guards would block the street, setting up checkpoints and directing away local residents.
The 36-year-old Itso Baykov is said to be in charge of the narcotics supply in a number of quarters in Sofia – Boyana, Dragalevtsi, Simeonovo, Vitosha, Knyazhevo, Ovcha Kupel, Lagera, Hipodruma, Borovo, and Krasno Selo as well as some parts of the city center.
Commissar Stanimir Florov from Bulgaria's Unit for Combating Organized Crime (GDBOP) said Thursday after Baykov's arrest that the alleged drug lord had already been arrested by GDBOP several months ago.
However, the Prosecutor's Office had decided that it could not be proven that the drugs and illegal weapons found in the same home were actually Baykov's.
The Center for Urban Mobility (CGM) is close to launching a new mobile application that will eliminate the need for physical transport cards in Sofia.
Property values in Sofia have surged by approximately €500 per square metre over the past year, according to data from one of Bulgaria’s largest real estate agencies. Across the country’s main cities, housing costs climbed by 20% in the final quarter of 2
A 19-year-old has been formally charged by the Sofia District Prosecutor's Office for attacking two minors on the Sofia metro. The victims, aged 13 and 15, suffered injuries during the incident on February 8.
The fully renovated underground parking facility at Terminal 2 of Vasil Levski Airport in Sofia has officially opened, offering parking for over 900 vehicles.
Construction has officially started on the expansion of Sofia’s third metro line in the area of the G. S. Rakovski Military Academy park.
A fatal accident occurred on Shipchenski Prohod Boulevard in Sofia this morning when a truck struck an elderly pedestrian, police confirmed. The collision took place near Ivan Dimitrov-Kuklata Street, close to tram stop No. 20.
Authorities in the Bulgarian town of Lovech have disclosed the results of a major operation targeting the distribution of counterfeit currency.
A 19-year-old has been formally charged by the Sofia District Prosecutor's Office for attacking two minors on the Sofia metro. The victims, aged 13 and 15, suffered injuries during the incident on February 8.
The three men who were discovered dead at the Petrohan lodge had gone without food for several days before their deaths, consuming only water or tea.
The Prosecutor’s Office has released further details regarding the investigation into the deaths of six individuals connected to the incidents at the Petrohan lodge and under Okolchitsa Peak
Ralitsa Asenova, the mother of 22-year-old Nikolay Zlatkov, whose body was discovered in a camper near Okolchitsa Peak alongside Ivaylo Kalushev and a 15-year-old boy, has publicly challenged the official versions announced so far in the investigation.
Authorities have revealed that Ivaylo Ivanov, Decho Vassilev, and Plamen Stattev were found dead in the Petrohan lodge after setting it on fire. This conclusion, presented by the Ministry of Interior and the Prosecutor’s Office, follows the release of thr
Novinite 2025 in Review: A Year That Tested Bulgaria and the World
A Disgraceful Betrayal: Bulgaria's Shameful Entry into Trump's Board of Peace
