Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Notorious drug trafficker apprehended in Ukraine

Evelin Banev, aka Brendo
Photo: BGNES, archive

Evelin Banev, aka Brendo has been detained in Ukraine, the Interior Ministry has confirmed.

He was last seen at a sitting of the Sofia Appellate Court in September 2015. Brendo was apprehended in this country in 2012 and handed over to the Italian authorities to be tried in Milan. However, Italy allowed him to return to Sofia temporarily to attend his Bulgarian trial. Since then he has been convicted in absentia by an Italian court to 20 years of imprisonment, by a Romanian court – to 10.5 years of imprisonment, and also by a Bulgarian court for money laundering and cocaine trafficking. Last year Switzerland also brought charges against him or money laundering – around USD 39 million from drugs via Credit Suisse. Brendo will remain in detention in Ukraine for 20 days after which the Bulgarian prosecutor’s office has the right to request his extradition. 



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

A European Parliament committee will monitor road safety in Bulgaria

The European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions (PETI) has decided to monitor the state of road safety in Bulgaria. The decision came after hearing a petition submitted by Rosalina Gadyuchkova, a Bulgarian citizen living in the United Kingdom.  The..

published on 11/4/25 9:54 AM

The Consulate General of Bulgaria in Toronto organizes Consular Days in Vancouver on November 7 and 8

The Consulate General of the Republic of Bulgaria in Toronto, together with the Bulgarian-Canadian Society of British Columbia, will organize consular days in Vancouver, BC on November 7 and 8, 2025, announced the team of the Bulgarian diplomatic..

published on 11/4/25 9:21 AM
National Gallery Square 500

National Gallery presents Christo and Jeanne-Claude with "Wrapped Reichstag"

The National Gallery Square 500 opens for the first time on November 4 at 6:00 p.m. an exhibition of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, marking the 90th anniversary of the birth of the creative tandem. The first acquisition of Christo's..

published on 11/4/25 7:05 AM