The Chief Directorate "Combating Organized Crime" (GDBOP) at Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry is monitoring 277 organized crime groups including 1319 participants, according to Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova.

Speaking Friday in Parliament, she noted that a total of 17 crime groups had been neutralized in the period February 24 – present, when GDBOP was transferred from the State Agency for National Security (DANS) to the Interior Ministry.

Bachvarova, as cited by dnevnik.bg, informed that a total of 25 special police operations had been conducted during the period, including 17 joint operations with other units of the Interior and other partnering services.

She said that 159 pre-trial proceedings had been opened, 50 had been closed, and charges had been pressed against 251 people in 11 cases.

Bachvarova explained that the transformation related to moving GDBOP to the Interior Ministry had been wrapped up, adding that the staff had been optimized by 37% from May 2013.

She claimed that the move to DANS had resulted in a serious deterioration in the fight against organized crime and the consequences were still being dealt with.

Bachavrova said that the Interior owed BGN 16 110 000 to former employees of the Interior Ministry who were supposed to receive 20 salaries upon leaving the system.

She made clear that the sum was owed to 942 former employees of the Interior who had retired in the period end-2014 – end-June 2015.

Bachvarova rejected allegations of a flood of resignations at the Ministry due to the planned retirement reform in the sector.