A 41-year-old convicted Bulgarian drug trafficker was arrested on Friday morning at his home by the South African Police Service’s National Intervention Unit (NIU).
Stanislav Stamenov was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment in Romania in 2009 for his role in a large organized criminal group involved in trafficking heroin into the country. He fled Romania shortly after his sentencing.
Authorities believe Stamenov had been hiding in Cape Town for several years, where he was working as a gym instructor at several well-known fitness clubs. He was the subject of an Interpol Red Notice, a global alert requesting law enforcement agencies worldwide to assist in locating and apprehending a fugitive.
Following his arrest, Stamenov is in police custody and will appear before the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Monday for his extradition hearing.