On September 27, at the request of the Government of Bulgaria, the United States Government extradited Bulgarian national Plamen Vladimirov Trifonov to Bulgaria. Trifonov was sentenced in 2004 to eight years imprisonment for charges related to human smuggling and negligent homicide.
In 1992, Trifonov was detained in Bulgaria on charges of human smuggling. While the charges were pending against him, Trifonov continued his human smuggling activities, and in 1995, caused the death of 18 of the 20 people he was smuggling out of Bulgaria by failing to provide them with oxygen while they were locked in the back of his truck. Trifonov was sentenced to an eight year imprisonment for his crimes and fled Bulgaria while appealing his sentence. In 2013, upon learning that Trifonov was living in the United States, the Government of Bulgaria requested his extradition. As a result, he was arrested in the U.S. state of Washington.
The United States recognizes the enduring value of the extradition treaty between the United States and Bulgaria, and is pleased to have played a role in helping to bring a criminal such as Trifonov to justice.