site.btaProbe Ordered Into Issuance of Firearms Permits in Petrohan Case

Chief Commissioner Zahari Vaskov, Director of the National Police General Directorate, Wednesday told MPs that a probe had been ordered into the issuance of firearms permits to people found dead in the Petrohan case.

Three bodies, identified as Ivaylo Ivanov, Plamen Statev and Decho Vasilev, were found in the Petrohan lodge in Northwestern Bulgaria on February 2, the Interior Ministry said. On February 8, two men - identified as Ivaylo Kalushev and Nikolay Zlatkov - and a 15-year-old boy, all of whom had occupied that property, were found dead with gunshot wounds in a camper van. Ivaylo Kalushev was owner of the Petrohan lodge and head of an NGO styling itself "National Protected Areas Control Agency".

A firearms permit was issued in the name of Ivaylo Ivanov by the Police Precinct Department in Montana (Northwestern Bulgaria) on August 23, 2021. The permit includes 16 items, among them five smoothbore shotguns, three rifled bore carbines and two barrels for smoothbore shotguns. Vaskov said he had ordered a probe into the way permits were issued by the Dangerous Weapons Control Service.

Ivaylo Kalushev was issued a permit on November 1, 2021, again by the Police Precinct Department in Montana, for a Glock and a Colt pistol.

Nikolay Zlatkov held a permit for one Heckler & Koch pistol, issued on February 24, 2023.

In Vaskov's words, a large number of the weapons were also found at the scene. Because of the fire, it has yet to be established whether the remaining items correspond to the permits issued.

The Interior Minister has ordered an inspection of all reports submitted by and against the National Protected Areas Control Agency, Vaskov said.

In 2022, the National Police General Directorate was tipped off about an agreement signed between the NGO and the Environment Ministry. An inspection was carried out by the economic police, additional materials were obtained, statements were taken, and the case file was forwarded to the Sofia City Prosecution Office (SCPO), Vaskov said. In 2024, two identical reports were filed in which the NGO was mentioned; they were submitted by grandparents who complained that a child's parents failed to provide adequate care and that the grandparents' access to the child was restricted. An inspection was conducted and the reports were attached to the existing case file sent to the SCPO.