Bulgarian citizens detained in Romania for fraud by using Romanian phone cards

Prosecutors with the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) and criminal investigation police officers conducted several searches in Bucharest and Prahova and five Bulgarian citizens were detained thereupon, accused of fraud by misleading people over the phone.

According to a DIICOT press release, as many as 12 searches took place simultaneously in Bulgaria, which led to the arrest of some other five Bulgarian citizens.

The action took place in the context of international judicial cooperation on criminal matters, based on an European investigation order drawn up by the judicial authorities in Bulgaria.

The Bulgarian authorities' file specifies that starting with 2017, on Bulgaria's territory several people domiciled in the area of the town of Gorna Oryahovitsa, the Veliko Tarnovo region, have constituted an organised criminal group specialised in phone frauds, the group being organised on the principle of family clan, many of its members being related.

"From the joint search activities carried out by the authorities of the two states, it was established that some of the members of the clan frequently traveled to Romania, where they stayed for various periods of time, and where they purchased many prepaid phone cards and mobile phones they used to make telephone calls to other citizens in Bulgaria whom, by invoking obviously unrealistic pretexts and the use of false qualities, they manipulated into providing sums of money, high amounts, most of the times, the total damage amounting to more than 500,000 US dollars. The modus operandi of the group over the past two years also involved the frequent change of accommodation places and the purchase of numerous mobile phone and mobile phone cards, used exclusively to commit the deeds," DIICOT argues.

The operation was carried out with the support of EUROJUST and SELEC, and technical support was provided by the DIICOT Technical and Criminal Bureau and the Special Operations Directorate