Kintex is a

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n state-owned company, founded in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, in 1966. Until 1992 essentially an arm of the Bulgarian Communist Party's secret service, the Committee for State Security, Kintex was an import-export corporation, which controlled the sale of everything from cigarettes to heavy weapons. Kintex was responsible for selling weapons to smugglers and terrorists, with both right wing and

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

political sympathies, in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, in the 1970s.

Smuggler of contraband

The first large export of weapons from Bulgaria was to Algeria in 1961–1962. Kintex maintained three bases in Sofia to load smuggled goods. These shipments were conveyed by sea to Turkey, travelling through the ports of

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

and Burgas. They were shipped aboard Bulgarian or foreign ships. Kintex realised an annual revenue from smuggling goods of between $5 million and $15 million. In the first years money was transported in suitcases. Following 1985 payments were made via transborder companies which were established by Bulgarian state security and the foreign trade ministry, usually in

offshore Offshore may refer to: Science and technology * Offshore (hydrocarbons) * Offshore construction, construction out at sea * Offshore drilling, discovery and development of oil and gas resources which lie underwater through drilling a well * Off ...

zones. These entities were shielded by local citizens who were agents of the secret police.

Post-communist era

Currently Kintex is located at 66, James Bourchier Boulevard, 1407 Sofia. For more than four decades the business has been making contracts to supply technical military production, armament, and ammunition. It has carried out engineering projects in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. In 1992 Kintex was changed to a company governed by

commercial law Commercial law, also known as mercantile law or trade law, is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of persons and business engaged in commerce, merchandising, trade, and sales. It is often considered to be a branc ...

, which limited its shares. Commercial law became effective in Bulgaria in 1992. All of its shares are owned by the state. Kintex is licensed to export, import, and re-export products for the Bulgarian Army and police.Bulgarian Defensive Industry Association
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091214141149/http://www.bdia-bg.com/english/kintex.html , date=2009-12-14 , internet article, retrieved on August 24, 2009.

References

External links

Official website
Companies based in Sofia Bulgarian companies established in 1965 People's Republic of Bulgaria Defence companies of Bulgaria Financial services companies established in 1965