A US$1.9 million facility that houses a joint task force of Bulgaria’s General Directorate for Combatting Organized Crime (GDBOP) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
will assist in countering drug trafficking activity in the Balkan region, according to U.S. and Bulgarian officials who participated in the building’s opening ceremony today.
Citing the successful seizures of thousands of kilograms of narcotic substances as a tangible result of the strong working relationship between the two countries, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Rumiana Bachvarova said the new joint task force headquarters building symbolizes a new beginning as well as a continuation of the exceptionally good cooperation between Bulgarian and U.S. agencies.
According to U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Martina Strong, the facility, which was funded by the U.S. European Command and built in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will provide a secure environment that will foster the strong operational partnership that exists between Bulgaria’s GDBOP and the U.S. DEA.
“Ours is a strategic, broad partnership that encompasses cooperation in many areas,” Chargé d’Affaires Strong said. “We work together as allies on securing our countries from existing and new threats and new challenges. We work together as business and investment partners to enhance the prosperity of our two countries, and we work together in many other areas, including law enforcement. We have achieved significant successes, not just here in this region, but on a global scale.”
According to a DEA representative, Bulgaria is located at an important strategic crossroads used by drug traffickers. He added that the majority of Afghan heroin enters Western Europe through the Balkan route, and amphetamine-type stimulants flow in the opposite direction, to the Middle East.
Also attending the ceremony were DEA Regional Director for the Middle East Region Kyle W. Williamson, Ankara; Section Chief of the DEA Office of Global Enforcement Duncan Lingle, Washington, D.C.; and Joseph Gabor, DEA Liaison Officer to EUCOM in Stuttgart, Germany, together with U.S. Embassy officials. Representatives from Bulgarian law enforcement, judiciary, the military and intelligence agencies also attended the ceremony.
