FBIS3-41272 "jptdd007__l94062"
JPRS-TDD-94-007-L Document Type:JPRS Document Title:Narcotics 14 February 1994
EAST EUROPE BULGARIA

Intelligence Chief Views Fight Against Mafia, Narcotics

AU1002201694 Sofia KONTINENT in Bulgarian 5 Feb 94 p 7 AU1002201694 Sofia KONTINENT Language: Bulgarian Article Type:BFN [Interview with Brigo Asparukhov, director of the National Intelligence Service, by Angelina Petrova; place and date not given: "Secret List of Companies Belonging to State Security Was Openly Photocopied in Interior Ministry"] [Excerpts] [passage omitted] [Petrova] What information does the NRS have about the present participation of Bulgarians in the narcotics trafficking that has always been routed through our country? [Asparukhov] I am worried about the possibility that in the near future, narcotics money will flow into our economy during the forthcoming privatization. When this happens, it will become almost impossible to combat the narcotics trade. This money will then be laundered and no one will be able to prove its origin. The profits from narcotics trafficking worldwide amount to U.S.$400 billion. The fight against organized crime, of which the sale of narcotics forms a part, requires decisive actions. This primarily means we need a clear program, in which the NRS and all the Interior Ministry organs should play a part. It is particularly important that the National Security Service--our counterintelligence--is also involved. [passage omitted] [Petrova] Those who defend the protection and security companies claim that they have succeeded in preventing foreign mafias, including the Russian mafia, from establishing themselves in Bulgaria. Is this true? [Asparukhov] There are no grounds for making such a claim. It is a manifest fact that foreign mafias or organized criminal groups from the former socialist countries, Russia included, are invading our country. Money, narcotics, and criminals are being imported to carry out special tasks for the criminal world. The private security firms in Bulgaria probably have their part to play in the future market economy, but it will hardly be within their powers to deal with the penetration of foreign mafias. This claim is frivolous. [passage omitted]