site.btaUPDATED Six Detained in Police Operation against Vote-buying in Sofia Region

Six people have been detained, 76 people with 60 motor vehicles have been checked, said Commissioner Petar Sokolov, head of the Security Police Department with the Sofia Police, in connection with Monday's specialized police operation mainly aimed against vote-buying, conducted in Sofia Region. 

Three people have been detained in connection with theft and assaults against citizens, two were found without identity documents, and one was found to be a registered criminal.

The focus of the operation is the municipalities of Kostenets and Dolna Banya. Representatives from the National Revenue Agency (NRA), the Regional Forest Inspectorate and the Food Safety Agency took part in the operation. Private addresses and commercial establishments are being checked, gambling halls and pawnshops will be inspected. Checkpoints have been set up at the entrances and exits of the two municipalities.

The large-scale police operation against vote-buying in Sofia region was announced by the Interior Ministry earlier in the day.  

On Friday, caretaker Interior Minister Atanas Ilkov announced that nearly 50 pre-trial proceedings had been opened for crimes against the political rights of citizens. Nearly 140 alerts have been received, more than 100 checks have been carried out, and almost a quarter of them have been terminated. In 14 of the signals there was evidence of a crime, he said.

So far, 23 people have been detained and a total of 471 warnings have been issued. So far there have been over  100 operations of the Ministry of Interior, said Minister Ilkov.