In a major breakthrough for Bulgarian law enforcement, Vasil Mihaylov, widely known across the country as the “prosecutor’s son from Pernik,” was captured during a highly coordinated special police operation in Sofia. Mihaylov, who had been evading a definitive prison sentence, was localized and detained following months of intensive intelligence gathering.
The official announcement was first broken on social media by Georgi Kandev, the Acting Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior, signaling an end to Mihaylov’s year-long run from the justice system.
A Radical Disguise Uncovered in the Capital
To evade law enforcement, the high-profile fugitive had undergone a drastic physical transformation, appearing with long hair and a dense beard at the time of his arrest.
According to Chief Commissioner Martin Zlatkov, Director of the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GDBOP), Mihaylov was cornered and taken down right outside the entrance of a residential building in Sofia’s “Svoboda” neighborhood. Law enforcement personnel had been conducting a series of exceptionally complex and high-risk surveillance measures for over two months before successfully zeroing in on the suspect.
A Violent Past Catching Up With the Suspect
Vasil Mihaylov, the son of high-ranking Pernik prosecutor Biser Mihaylov, first gained national notoriety in April 2025 when the Sofia Regional Court handed him a four-year prison sentence. His convictions stemmed from multiple severe physical assaults and explicit death threats made against local citizens.
His legal troubles escalated further when caretaker authorities linked him and two masked accomplices to a brutal bat attack in the village of Lyulin, near Pernik. The victim of that targeted assault was a serving GDBOP officer who had previously worked in the criminal police sector, making Mihaylov’s capture a top institutional priority.
Strict Sentences and the Hunt for Accomplices
With his evasion cut short, the Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that Mihaylov will be immediately transferred to a correctional facility to begin serving an effective sentence of 1 year and 8 months. Simultaneously, authorities are fast-tracking other outstanding criminal proceedings against him, including the aforementioned 4-year prison term handed down by the Sofia Regional Court.
Meanwhile, the investigation into his evasion network remains highly active. Detectives revealed that more than three individuals were found inside his final hideout and are currently being interrogated. A wider criminal probe has been officially launched to uncover and prosecute all individuals who provided logistical, financial, or safe-haven assistance to the fugitive during his time on the run.