site.btaInterior Ministry Secretary General Kotsev on Ministry’s Work, Challenges in 2023

The Interior Ministry's Secretary General, Zhivko Kotsev, told bTV on Sunday that there were a number of challenges in 2023 his Ministry. It was a complex and dynamic year, said Kotsev. "We fought against illegal migration, human trafficking, countering cybercrime," he said, also listing the fight against traffic injuries, drugs and domestic violence.   

"We still cannot restore people's trust in the system, the prestige of the Ministry has been damaged, the motivation of some staff has been lost," Kotsev said.

In his words, he and Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov have put a lot of efforts and energy into restoring the professional balance and bringing back the belief that everyone will be evaluated according to their performance. 

In relation to traffic accident injuries, Zhivko Kotsev noted that the vehicle confiscation measure is working. The obvious police control on the roads is also yielding  results, he said.

There is no specific suspect for the murder of Alexey Petrov. Hopefully, accessing Petrov's phone will provide answers to several questions, Kotsev said, specifying that this could happen in a few months.

Kotsev said he hoped the case of the Verila ship would be an isolated one. The value of the drugs on board is about EUR 20 million, Kotsev said. Three of those arrested have criminal records in Bulgaria for theft and damage to property, he said. 

After the protest against the leadership of the Bulgarian Football Union in mid-November in Sofia, when there were clashes between police officers and protestors, Kotsev said that four police officers have already been fired and nine more disciplinary proceedings are underway. He did not rule out the possibility that more police officers can be fired. 

The Interior Ministry's Secretary General added that the Road Infrastructure Agency's cameras were currently being tested to detect the speed of commuters. So in February or March they are expected to start being used. The Ministry of Interior has prepared changes to legislation which provide for anyone caught driving with more than 0.5 per mille of alcohol  to be subject to pre-trial proceedings.