KACELA, Croatia — One of the largest investigations into the origin of ammunition seized during anti-terrorism raids across Europe last month has revealed a Bulgarian-Syrian supplier of deadly improvised rocket propelled grenades, also known as “Rust” ammo.
A man in his 30s described by Bulgarian police as a “jackpot supplier” supplied 3,200 pounds of the blue-steel cartridge for use by the terrorist group ISIS. No other specific details were revealed in the search warrant for his home obtained by the Bulgarian paper BCT.
Authorities in Bulgaria, including the domestic intelligence service, have described the man as a “high-level operator.” At least 3,600 people across Europe were caught in the raids, which targeted 39 locations in 17 countries, and nearly 6,000 firearms were seized during searches.
During last month’s raids, Romanian authorities unearthed a “total ruin,” an extensive underground weapons manufacturing network that had been active since 2005. Police there discovered nearly a half million small arms, many of which were destined for ISIS in Syria.
Earlier this year, the Balkan state also suffered the loss of more than 500 weapons, including four SA-2 surface-to-air missile systems.
Read the full story at The Local.
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