Bulgarian police arrest Russian linked to Beirut Port blast Which claimed over 200 lives

Bulgarian police have recently arrested a Russian, Igor Grechushkin, who is responsible for the deaths of more than 200 people, Bourgas reports.

The Russian owner of the cargo ship that carried the ammonium nitrate that caused the devastating explosion at the port of Beirut was arrested in Bulgaria in 2020.

Grechushkin's arrest came almost five years after a Lebanese investigating judge issued two arrest warrants through Interpol against him and the ship's captain, Boris Prokoshev, also a Russian citizen.

Sources in the Lebanese courts told Euronews that documents are being prepared to request Grechushkin's extradition to Lebanon for questioning. If the extradition request is denied, Lebanese investigators may travel to Bulgaria for questioning.

Grechushkin, who is also a Cypriot citizen, was detained last week at Sofia's Vasil Levski Airport after arriving on a flight from Cyprus, according to four anonymous sources in the Beirut judiciary.

By Khagan Isayev