Bulgaria Sends 3rd Group of 'Shock' Special Ops Detainees to Italy

The special police operation codenamed "Shock" far resulted in nearly fifty arrests and claims of police brutality. File photo

Bulgaria has extradited to Italy a third group of members of a large international ring of credit card fraudsters, who were nabbed at the beginning of July in a special police operation codenamed "Shock".

The information was reported by the Bulgarian Interior Ministry's press center.

The latest group includes 12 individuals accused of credit card fraud. According to Europol, the ring was one of the largest organized crime groups in Europe, dealing with this crime, to be broken in the last 5 years.

Its members are suspected in skimming over 15 000 credit cards across Europe, draining over EUR 50 M.

Operation Shock was conducted in the wee hours of July 6 in the cities of Sofia, Kyustendil, Plovdiv, Pazardzhik, Gabrovo, Stara Zagora, Shumen, Varna and Burgas, and abroad.

It was conducted in close cooperation with Europol and the US Secret Service and at the request of Italy in connection with an uncovered drug crime group trafficking drugs and cars stolen from the EU to Bulgaria, as well as involved in financial crimes.

"Shock", ordered and headed by the Interior Ministry's Chief Secretary Kalin Georgiev, was carried out under the supervision of the Supreme Prosecutor's Office.

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