Against the backdrop of the mass arrests in "Botunets" and the subsequent large-scale special operation against the criminal gang of "Kalashnikovs", the issue of security and control in the state has again come to the fore.
Former Deputy Minister of Interior Ivan Anchev commented on the topic of security in the country and the activities of criminal groups in the studio of "Denyat ON AIR". According to him, when talking about such structures, one should not rush to publicly accuse them of having a political umbrella, because this would require naming specific names and political forces.
Anchev emphasized that in this case, it is more about corruption networks, which unfortunately exist in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to him, citizens learned about the existence of these groups not thanks to law enforcement agencies, but after a tragic incident. He warned that such criminal acts should not be considered solely on the basis of ethnic or other specific signs, since they encompass problematic social strata to which the state should pay more attention.
Otherwise, there is a risk of creating enclaves of criminality, where institutions would hardly be able or even want to enter.
Anchev gave the example of Chicago, where entire neighborhoods and small towns have given up their own police forces and have handed over this activity to the sheriff's office due to serious problems with the law and order. The former deputy minister pointed out that the Ministry of Interior should conduct a serious check of its operational services - from the regional departments and inspectors to the main directorates - in order to clarify how long operational information has been available about these individuals, what data has been collected and what technical means have been applied to them. This would show whether these criminal groups have been criminally patronized over the years.
He expressed hope that the evidence collected by the prosecutor's office will stand up to the trial phase, and noted that society still has no idea how many families have suffered from the activities of these groups, including from forced prostitution. Anchev pointed out that the buying and selling of votes during elections is not an isolated business, but a concomitant activity of other serious crimes such as smuggling, prostitution and racketeering.
According to him, nowadays a new criminogenic environment is observed, composed of small criminal syndicates that interact and replace each other.
As an example of such structures, he also pointed out the football agitators of leading teams, to which society does not pay enough attention.
When asked about possible inspections in the Ministry of Internal Affairs or personnel changes, Anchev stated that as a political figure in the past he had not received such signals, and added that the Secretary General is the most important professional figure in the ministry, who bears direct responsibility for dealing with these problems.
In conclusion, he expressed hope that a time will come when the Bulgarian police - following the model of the Scandinavian countries, will work entirely in the protection of citizens and the rule of law. the law, without serving political interests.