Fugitive wanted by Interpol captured in Cape Town after years on the run

A Bulgarian national sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment in Romania for heroin trafficking has been arrested at his Cape Town home after allegedly living in the city for several years while on an Interpol red notice.

Stanislav Stamenov, 41, was arrested on Friday morning by the South African Police Service’s National Intervention Unit (NIU). He is expected to appear in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Monday in connection with extradition proceedings.

National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe confirmed the arrest.

“A 41-year-old convicted drug trafficker was arrested on Friday morning at his home by the SAPS National Intervention Unit in Cape Town,” Mathe said.

She said Stamenov was sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment in Romania in 2009 for his role in a large organised criminal group involved in trafficking heroin into the country, but fled shortly after sentencing.

“He was part of a large criminal organised group involved in the trafficking of heroin into Romania. It’s believed that he was hiding in Cape Town for several years,” Mathe said.

She added that Stamenov had been placed on an Interpol red notice — a global request to law-enforcement agencies to locate and provisionally arrest a fugitive pending extradition.

“Following his arrest by the NIU, he is detained and will appear before the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court for his extradition matter on Monday,” she said.

The arrest brings clarity to weeks of uncertainty following reports that a popular personal trainer in Constantia had been linked to an Interpol alert.

As previously reported, clients at a Virgin Active gym in Constantia expressed shock and disbelief after learning that their trainer, identified online as Stamenov Stanislav Sevdanilov, was allegedly wanted by Romanian authorities.

One client, who spoke on condition of anonymity at the time, described him as “kind, considerate, funny and generous”.

“People adored him,” she said. “He’s a great guy with a beautiful wife and a lovely daughter. I just can’t make sense of it.”

Romanian prosecutors previously stated in a 2009 press release that a Bulgarian citizen by the same name was implicated in an organised drug-trafficking network operating in Bucharest. Nearly two kilograms of heroin were allegedly seized during a surveillance operation in Giurgiu in June 2009.

Prosecutors alleged that the drugs were introduced into Romania by Stamenov and another Bulgarian national, and that the group had carried out similar transactions involving heroin imported for distribution.

Interpol has clarified that a red notice is not an international arrest warrant, but a request to member countries to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition. Any arrest is subject to domestic law.

The case now shifts to the South African courts, where the extradition process will unfold.

The arrest also comes amid heightened regional cooperation. Zimbabwean authorities are expected to surrender 33-year-old Alton Ncube to Interpol South Africa next week. Ncube is wanted by Gauteng police for the February 2025 murder of his wife in Jabulani, Soweto.

He is due to be handed over at the Beitbridge border post on March 4, 2026.

Stamenov’s appearance in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Monday will mark the first step in determining whether he will be extradited to Romania to serve his 16-year sentence.

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