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The Greek police fear that Yosif Yosifov - Yosko who is accused by the Bulgarian authorities of establishing and managing a group for committing assassinations has returned to Greece to continue his illegal activities as reported by the Greek "To Vima" newspaper.

He was arrested a year ago in a flat in Thessaloniki suburb Diavata after a long investigation involving the criminal department of the local police and the anti-terrorist service. They found in the flat a small arsenal of weapons too, including a "Scorpio" submachine gun, a Russian silenced pistol, two bulletproof vests, night vision binoculars, a mobile phones jammer, face masks, gloves, a military compass and a set of radios.

Before his capture, Yosif Yosifov was on the list of persons wanted by Interpol, in compliance with a warrant for his search issued in 2009. According to the Bulgarian police he had been involved in kidnappings for ransom and extortion, in a murder and drug trafficking. The warrant for the search of Yosifov sent to the Greek police authorities described him as the leader of a gang for illegal drug trafficking and as a person accused of committing robberies.

The procedures for returning the bandit known as Yosko to Bulgaria were triggered after his capture in Diavata. As reported by Bulgarian media, he had been extradited under a European arrest warrant but despite the serious charges of participating in a criminal group for robberies and managing a group for committing assassinations, he had been at liberty this February and had immediately gone underground.

The article in "To Vima" newspaper indicates that Yosifov was involved in murders and kidnappings as a leader of a large drug trafficking network and had ties with Turkish heroin traffickers. According to the article, one of the main charges against Yosifov is connected with the murders of the following persons: a drug trafficking rival of his in Amsterdam in 2003, Philip Naydenov - Fatik in August of that year, Lebanese Faisal Zakka and Syrian Matar al Rouleh.

The author of the article in "To Vima" newspaper states that Yosko was also accused of murdering a police officer in Bulgaria. "He responded to the accusations by stating that he was innocent and the Bulgarian authorities encountered difficulties in the reasoning of the charges. Yosifov was convicted and then released. At the same time, rumour had it that he had questionable ties with judges and police officers," reads the article.

The report on Yosko’s activities continues with the accusations made against him in 2007, namely of kidnapping Croatian citizen Ivan Moje from "Slivnishki hero" nightclub and of deliberately causing a car accident in a Sofia suburb in 2011, which resulted in the death of two persons and the injury of another three.

Yosifov disappeared from Bulgaria in 2011, in the direction of Greece, the crimes committed by him in the country being unclear. The Greek authorities believe that he has probably returned to Greece after his release from detention in Bulgaria earlier this year and they have therefore re-launched the police investigation to find him.