site.btaUPDATED Montana Regional Court Approves Request by Italian Authorities for Extradition of All 4 Bulgarians Detained for Human Trafficking

At separate court sessions, the Montana Regional Court approved the requests of Italian judicial authorities for the extradition of four people from Lom, accused by the prosecution office in Lecce of human trafficking, unlawful imprisonment and solicitation of prostitution.

Each of the four detainees - Kiril Kirchev (50), Yanek Yanchev (33), Ivan Georgiev (33) and Milena Spasova (31) - told the court that they were innocent and wanted to go to Italy sooner to cooperate with the investigation there and prove that they had nothing to do with the case and clear their names.

The detainees' lawyers say each of them has their own occupation, which they practice legally and have no previous criminal record. Kirchev, Yanchev and Georgiev are drivers, while Spasova is a healthcare worker and works at a neighbourhood health post. Until four months ago, Yanchev and Spasova, who are husband and wife, lived in Italy, where they had their own shop, but closed it down and returned to Lom.

Kirchev told the court that it was also his wish to go to Italy to assist the investigation and prove his innocence. According to his lawyer, Natsol Georgiev, Kirchev has nothing to do with the criminal group and is engaged in a legal business - transporting people from Lom and north-western Bulgaria to Lecce in Italy. Georgiev said his client did not force anyone to get into his van for the trips to Italy and did not solicit women for prostitution.

On March 11, Kirchev, Yanchev, Georgiev, and Spasova were detained following a European arrest warrant issued by the authorities in Italy. The Prosecution Office then issued a detention order for 72 hours and on March 15 the court took a permanent detention order for the four suspects, who are accused in Italy of human trafficking, unlawful deprivation of liberty and soliciting prostitution. 

Montana Regional Prosecution Office spokeswoman prosecutor Lili Ilieva said that according to the prosecution's data in Italy, a criminal group of one Italian and 21 Bulgarians had been operating in the town of Lecce for 2-3 years, supplying women from Bulgaria for prostitution. The activities of the group have been monitored since 2021 by the police and the prosecution in Italy, Bulgarian police officers were also involved in the investigation. If the charges are proven, the suspects could receive 10 to 30 years in prison, depending on the severity of the charges against each of them.