Bulgaria’s General Directorate Combating Organized Crime (GDCOC) shut down four websites selling counterfeit medicines as part of the international Operation Pangea XVIII, caretaker Interior Minister Emil Dechev said during a briefing at the Council of Ministers on Thursday.

Dechev said the operation was part of a large-scale international police effort coordinated by Interpol and carried out with the support of law enforcement agencies from member states. He described it as a major success for both INTERPOL and Bulgarian authorities, including GDCOC and the Sofia Directorate of Interior.

He praised officers from the two units, noting that cybercrime specialists had taken part in a large-scale online sweep targeting illicit pharmaceutical sales.

The operation was conducted simultaneously in 90 countries between March 10 and March 23, 2026. Authorities disrupted around 5,700 websites, social media pages, channels and automated bots used to market and sell illegal medicines.

According to INTERPOL around 270 people have been arrested across 90 countries during the operation, while 66 criminal groups have been dismantled. More than 6 million illicit medicines worth USD 15.5 million were also seized.

Among the most serious cases, Dechev highlighted the discovery of an illegal pharmaceutical factory in Bulgaria, where millions of tablets, ampoules and injectable products were seized.

Asked about his time in office, Dechev said the Ministry of Interior had shown over the past two and a half months that it could work “boldly, fearlessly and without double standards” while strictly following the law. He added that despite the limited mandate of the caretaker government, his team had managed to achieve significant results on complex tasks.