site.btaPolice Use Excavator to Break into Fentanyl House in Sofia, Woman Arrested

Police used an excavator to gain access to a house linked to fentanyl distribution in Sofia's Fakulteta borough, where a 42-year-old woman was arrested with dozens of fentanyl doses, according to a Friday briefing by Deputy Chief of the Third Police Precinct, Commissioner Stanislava Todorova.

She said that the woman's brother was arrested at the same address on June 1 and remains in custody. The woman was previously unknown to the Interior Ministry.

"Over time, they have come up with various ways to obstruct our work by building high illegal fences and extensions to the house," Todorova said. She added that Krasna Polyana borough Mayor Dimitar Petrov and the borough municipality provided an excavator to remove the fence and the illegal structure, noting that barbed wire had been installed on the fence.

When police officers entered the property on Friday, people at the scene threw the drugs into a sewage channel, but officers managed to recover the pipe containing the narcotics, she added.

Todorova said authorities are conducting an extensive investigation into the entire family, including their employment, activities and sources of the drugs. She noted that the arrested woman's brother remains formally employed while in custody, adding that police will investigate the companies involved and forward the findings to the National Revenue Agency.

Todorova also said that fentanyl distribution is on the rise.

"We are working well and take immediate action whenever necessary," Krasna Polyana Mayor Dimitar Petrov said.