site.btaInterior Minister Opens Laboratory for Processing Drivers’ Samples in Plovdiv, Comments on Current Issues

Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev opened a laboratory in Plovdiv for processing drivers’ blood samples for alcohol and drug use. He said that the accumulated backlog of blood samples is expected to be cleared by the end of the year, and that drug test results will begin to be available within days, like those for alcohol.

The minister also confirmed that there were no reports of casualties following the explosion at the military plant in the village of Belitsa, Tryavna Municipality. He said that nearby settlements were being evacuated as a precautionary measure.

Together with the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Interior has taken responsibility for securing the entire area where, on 8 August, a Ukrainian drone violated Bulgarian airspace and crashed 200 metres from the former border checkpoint between Bulgaria and Romania near Kardam. “Critical points have been identified and provided with additional security,” Demerdzhiev said.

The General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime, through its Cybercrime Directorate, monitors such documentation of any form of aggression or threats on social media in order to prevent similar incidents from occurring, the minister said in connection with the killing of a 37-year-old man in the Youth Hill locality in Plovdiv.