Wikileaks: US Ambassador Warlick's Report on Operation 'Octopus' of Bulgaria's Police

A diplomatic cable of the US Embassy in Sofia, dated February 10, 2010, has been released on WikiLeaks and provided to the project for investigative journalism www.bivol.bg and its affiliate BalkanLeaks.eu, bringing out current US Ambassador to Bulgaria James Warlickas report to Washington on the so called special police operation aOctopusa of the Bulgarian police under the Borisov Cabinet in which former secret agent Aleksei Petrov was arrested. date: 2/10/2010 17:05 refid: 10SOFIA103 origin: Embassy Sofia classification: CONFIDENTIAL destination: 09SOFIA508|09SOFIA548|09SOFIA642 header: VZCZCXRO0687 RR RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR DE RUEHSF #0103/01 0411705 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 101705Z FEB 10 FM AMEMBASSY SOFIA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6700 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SOFIA 000103 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/03/2019 TAGS: PGOV, KCRM, KCOR, BU SUBJECT: COMBATING ORGANIZED CRIME: ROUND ONE GOES TO THE NEW GOVERNMENT REF: A. 09 SOFIA 508 B. 09 SOFIA 548 C. 09 SOFIA 642 Classified By: AMB JAMES WARLICK FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 1. (C) Summary: Elected on an anti-corruption and organized crime platform, the GERB government has made good on its campaign promises and taken some positive steps. Important reforms, bolstered by political will from the top, have ratcheted up the pressure against previously untouchable organized crime figures and enabled marquee busts of a few large well-equipped organized crime groups. At the same time, these arrests have highlighted weaknesses in the judicial system as judges allow members of these groups to make bail and delay proceedings despite prosecutors' assurances of airtight evidence against them. In private meetings with the Ambassador, the government has confirmed its commitment to fight organized crime, but this may be a losing battle if it is unable to convince the judiciary to make the reforms necessary to allow prosecutors to do their jobs and keep dangerous criminals in prison. End Summary. PROGRESS ON ORGANIZED CRIME AND CORRUPTION ----------------------------------------- 2. (C) In its short time in office, the government has completed difficult reforms and personnel changes necessary to make law enforcement more effective. It has revamped law enforcement by removing 26 of the 28 regional police chiefs, many of whom were corrupt or incompetent, established embassy-recommended interagency counter organized crime task forces, and passed new laws to resolve jurisdictional conflicts between the State Agency for National Security (DANS) and the Ministry of Interior (MOI). As a result, coordination between law enforcement and the prosecutor's office has dramatically improved. Chief Prosecutor Boris Velchev, a Socialist appointee, confided to the Ambassador during a February 1 meeting that he has the complete support of the PM and the government to "declare war" on the 200 to 300 most dangerous organized crime figures, including the 20 to 50 bosses who are household names (ref A). 3. (C) Structural reforms and clear political will have brought some quick and convincing results, including impressive operations in December against two notorious organized crime gangs known as "the Impudents" and "the Crocodiles." The government arrested 30 members of the Impudent gang believed to have carried out 19 high profile ransom kidnappings over the past several years. Breaking up this group was a priority from day one for the new government due to this group's use of sophisticated technology and techniques along with the psychological effect the kidnappings had on the population. Similarly, the Crocodile gang, composed mainly of car thieves and highway robbers, terrorized mostly Turkish citizens driving through Bulgaria to Germany.