Bulgarian premier seeks dismissal of interior ministry’s chief secretary ‘for better fight against crime’

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) - Bulgaria’s prime minister wants to dismiss the country’s interior ministry’s chief secretary “for a better fight against crime,” media reports said Friday.

Speaking to the media after meeting Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov and other senior security officers amid a surging crime wave in the country, Nikolai Denkov said the issue would be discussed in a Cabinet meeting next week, according to the Sofia Globe newspaper.

Stoyanov does not work with Secretary Petar Todorov because there is no trust, he said.

Denkov noted that a coordination mechanism will be set up to enable the speedy exchange of information among the interior ministry, security services and the prosecutor’s office for a more efficient fight against crime.

Regarding the murder Wednesday of controversial figure Alexey Petrov in the national capital of Sofia, Denkov said various motives, including the possibility of revenge, are being investigated.