The services have information about other groups on the territory of Bulgaria that are carrying out activities similar to the one that became the subject of the last SANS action. Work is already underway on them, and the main goal is to identify and neutralize them before their activities lead to more serious consequences. This was stated by Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev to journalists, quoted by Nova TV.
We recall that yesterday, agents from SANS and ODMVR - Plovdiv broke up a group practicing non-traditional rituals using psychoactive substances. A Spanish citizen was detained and charged.
The operation was conducted based on information obtained by the National Security Agency, according to which the man had formed a group of followers in our country, which he manipulated through pseudo-spiritual suggestions and promises of mental and physical healing.
The leader presented himself as the sole intermediary of "higher spirits" and a bearer of ancient spiritual knowledge and used this to manipulate his followers and keep them in submission through psychological influence and the use of psychoactive substances.
Demerdzhiev refused to disclose details of the specific operation by the National Security Agency, but confirmed that the attention of the services was not directed solely at the group, which has already become publicly known. “Details cannot be given, but there are other such groups. Our task is to identify them and neutralize them in the bud, before it becomes something more serious“, the minister said.
According to him, the institutions are also working on other similar cases. “Our focus is on prevention, so as not to allow an escalation of their activities“, the interior minister added.
When asked whether the services actually have information about other groups working in a similar way, Demerdzhiev replied: “Of course, we have such information and we are actively working on it“.
Investigations into the guardrails
When asked about the investigation related to the public procurement for road guardrails, Demerdzhiev said that the inspections are developing in two separate directions. One concerns the safety of road facilities, and the other – the way in which public funds were spent.
According to him, it is being checked whether the guardrails installed on the republican road network have the necessary certificates, whether they have passed the necessary tests and whether they meet the regulatory requirements.
Demerdzhiev explained that there are proceedings on this line for which the results of inspections are expected. “We have reason to doubt whether this was done in accordance with the procedure provided for by law and whether the guardrails installed on our roads meet all the requirements“, he said.
The second direction is related to public procurement and suspicions of diversion of significant public resources. Demerdzhiev announced that the materials collected on this line have already been submitted to the prosecutor's office.
The minister also made a comparison with the speed with which, according to him, the prosecutor's office is working on a signal related to Delyan Peevski and data on his flights. “I hope the standard is the same and there will be answers very soon“, said Demerdzhiev.
According to him, during checks for possible political connections with public procurement for guardrails, four companies were found that over a long period of time won over 96% of the competitions in this sector. “You can see the names of Borisov and Goranov there“, said Demerdzhiev.
He pointed out that there was another procurement that the same companies won or were close to winning, but the procedure was subsequently terminated. When asked whether Borisov's direct connection with the procurements has been established at the moment, Demerdzhiev pointed out his closeness to former Finance Minister Goranov and the way in which, according to him, GERB was managed during the period in question. “I think that Goranov's name is close enough to Borisov. We know how this party is situated, we know how it is governed - one-man“, said Demerdzhiev.
The Ministry of Interior is preparing to counter vote buying
Demerdzhiev also commented on the Ministry of Interior's preparations for the upcoming elections. According to him, there is currently no activation of practices related to vote buying, but the department's structures have already received specific tasks.
“We are currently engaged in the organization of the elections. We have significant experience, we have set tasks, there was a national meeting and work between all responsible institutions, so we are working actively“, he explained.
The Minister of Interior pointed out that each territorial structure of the Ministry of Interior must monitor the situation and counteract signals of election crimes.
“At the moment, there is no such activation, but we are ready. We have set tasks and every territorial structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is working to counteract such activity“, said Demerdzhiev.
Today, the Minister of Internal Affairs opens the 12th edition of the European Police Volleyball Championship. Our country is hosting the competition