Bulgaria's most notorious crime bosses, nicknamed "The Eyes", has been jailed for for drug trafficking.
A court in the Black Sea city of Burgas convicted Dimitar Zheliazkov and 11 members of his gang after they pleaded guilty to charges of founding an organised armed group for drug trafficking, a court spokeswoman said.
"For the first time such a key figure from the Bulgarian criminal world has been convicted. This has not happened so far," prosecutor Svetlozar Kostov said on national radio.
Last week, Zheliazkov, 32, and the other 11 men reached an out-of-court agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to the charges. The 11 were jailed for one to five years.
Zheliazkov was sentenced to 4-½ years.
Commentators criticised prosecutors for not seeking the maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Zheliazkov had been arrested several times before but prosecutors could not build a successful case against him.
The European Union, which Bulgaria joined in 2007, and the United States have repeatedly urged Sofia to end a climate of impunity and demonstrate the political will to fight crime.
The Balkan country has failed to jail a single criminal for any of 151 gangland killings since 2000.
Crime groups' profits from trade in drugs, stolen cars and trafficking of women are estimated at up to €2.2 billion ($3.66 billion) a year, a report by an independent Bulgarian anti-graft organisation showed last month.
The report by the Centre for the Study of Democracy said organised crime groups were "buying" politicians, magistrates and civil servants to legalise businesses and extend control over lucrative markets.
A court in the Black Sea city of Burgas convicted Dimitar Zheliazkov and 11 members of his gang after they pleaded guilty to charges of founding an organised armed group for drug trafficking, a court spokeswoman said.
"For the first time such a key figure from the Bulgarian criminal world has been convicted. This has not happened so far," prosecutor Svetlozar Kostov said on national radio.
Last week, Zheliazkov, 32, and the other 11 men reached an out-of-court agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to the charges. The 11 were jailed for one to five years.
Zheliazkov was sentenced to 4-½ years.
Commentators criticised prosecutors for not seeking the maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Zheliazkov had been arrested several times before but prosecutors could not build a successful case against him.
The European Union, which Bulgaria joined in 2007, and the United States have repeatedly urged Sofia to end a climate of impunity and demonstrate the political will to fight crime.
The Balkan country has failed to jail a single criminal for any of 151 gangland killings since 2000.
Crime groups' profits from trade in drugs, stolen cars and trafficking of women are estimated at up to €2.2 billion ($3.66 billion) a year, a report by an independent Bulgarian anti-graft organisation showed last month.
The report by the Centre for the Study of Democracy said organised crime groups were "buying" politicians, magistrates and civil servants to legalise businesses and extend control over lucrative markets.
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