ISIS slaps £38,000 bounty on Bulgarian 'migrant hunter' famed for posting videos of himself rounding up asylum seekers 

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ISIS fanatics have put a £38,000 bounty on the head of a Bulgarian man famed for chasing down migrants trying to enter the country.

Self-styled ‘migrant hunter’ Dinko Valev has won notoriety after posting internet videos of himself chasing down immigrants who fled into Bulgaria from Turkey and war-torn Syria.

In a recent video the former semi-professional wrestler thanked his army of fans for their support as he showed off a new £75,000 Mercedes S-Class car.

However, his videos have not only won him an army of fans: his shameless self-promotion has also led extremists from ISIS to offer a $50,000 (£38,000) bounty to anyone who kills him. 

Fame and fortune: Dinko Valev has found notoriety hunting down migrants in Bulgaria 

Riches: He thanked his supporters for enabling him to buy his expensive new Mercedes

Enemies: However, his shameless self-promotion has also led to extremists from the so-called Islamic State offering a $50,000 (£38,000) bounty to anyone who kills him

The former semi-professional wrestler was hailed as a hero by some Bulgarians after social media videos showed him and other armed vigilantes chasing terrified migrants through woodlands.

The films showed women and children forced to cower on the forest floor while the men were made to lie on their stomachs with their hands tied behind their backs.

In one such film a man can be heard shouting: ‘Go back to Turkey. No Bulgaria for you.’

Valev defended his actions as a ‘public service’ to Bulgaria, which recorded more than 30,000 migrants crossing its border from Turkey during 2015, and said he handed over his captives to police.

His popularity is such in his home country that Valev is known to have been offered more than £66,000 to take part in a Bulgarian version of the reality television show Big Brother.

And now he has appeared to suggest his fans are to thank for the purchase of his imported luxury car. 

In his latest video, he said: ‘I thank God for giving me the opportunity to buy it. I wish [for] accident-free driving.’

He added: ‘There should be fans, because without fans, man is nothing. I love you, because without you this does not work.’

Bounty hunter: Bulgarian vigilante Valev sits on an armoured vehicle which he uses to track down and round up illegal migrants near his home in the city of Yambol in Bulgaria

Support: While many are shocked by his actions, others are supportive of the way he rounds up refugees and migrants who cross into the eastern European state

Boom: Valev (posing at home in his dressing gown) said earlier this year the reaction has been so positive he is now trying to recruit more people to expand his vigilante operation

The mercenaries patrol through rough territory around Yambol near the border with Turkey

He has previously described his migrant ‘hunts’ – in which he and his supporters chase people down on horseback and even from military-style armoured vehicles – as ‘sport’.

Speaking earlier this year, he said: ‘I would describe it as simply a sporting activity. I am a sportsman, you can’t describe sportsmen as violent.

‘I have to do a public service at the same time that protects Bulgarians.’

His actions were condemned by human rights groups, who accused him of fanning fears about immigration and the Bulgarian government of turning a blind eye to him and other vigilantes.

Valev and two others were reportedly arrested earlier this year, but Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borissov has praised the work of vigilantes in helping police to detect illegal immigrants.  

Terrified: Migrants are forced to lie face down on the ground after being rounded up by one of Valev's patrols

Huddled in fear: Suspected illegal migrants cower on the ground after being 'caught' by Valev. Human rights activists have accused Valev of terrorising his captives with death threats

But the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights have demanded officials clamp down on the immigrant roundups being organised by Valev, saying what he is doing is illegal and branding him a criminal.

The Helsinki Committees for Human Rights are non-profit organisations devoted to human rights present in many countries, including Bulgaria.

In a statement to MailOnline in March, a spokesman said: 'Valev admits that he has hurt these people. 

'His victims included men, women and children fleeing Syria. In one incident, he forced them to lie face down for half an hour after terrorising them with death threats.

'In another refugee roundup, he boasts about tracking a man for a while before finally capturing him. 

Equipment: Valev says volunteers have been turning up with off-road trial bikes and dogs to help in the search for migrants

Military: Valev has even managed to acquire two armoured personnel carriers to travel through the rough territory

Divisive: Valev has thousands of supporters online, with some calling him a 'hero' and human rights groups 'traitors'

'He repeatedly makes offensive remarks about refugees and it's clear that he plans to expand his volunteer corps to focus on capturing more asylum seekers.

'Even more worrying is that he wants the state to fund his operation and to pay for every captured refugee.

'So he is not only spreading fear of refugees within Bulgarian society, and inspiring people to treat them with disgust and hostility, and to reject them, but he's also asking for his actions to be supported.'