The Croats are suspected in connection with five murders committed in recent weeks which shocked the Bulgarian public, novinite.com said on its Web page.
Mario Jancev, chief of the Sofia police murder division, has said that at least five of the 12 Croats, aged between 20 and 27, are currently in Bulgaria. According to him, the police discovered a connection between them and a Bulgarian citizen arrested for one of the murders.
BTA agency reported that the police had urged the residents of Sofia to help in the arrest of the Croats. Stressing that contacts between Bulgarian and Croatian crime gangs had intensified recently, BTA said it was assumed the Croats were hiding in rented flats.
According to the agency, they are well-armed and will have a hard time leaving Sofia unnoticed.
Novinite.com said that Croatian crime gangs in Bulgaria were mainly involved in the illegal drug trade and that their visits to Bulgaria coincided with the Sofia murders.