Georgi Bachev, former player from the Bulgarian national football team has been identified as the boss of a crime group dealing with black lottery.

The group was busted a week ago during a special operation of the Unit for Combating Organized Crime (GDBOP) while Bachev's name was released by the sports daily Meridian Match, citing sources from the investigation.

In addition to the football player, who is also a former boss of the Locomotive football club in the northwestern town of Mezdra, the other two masterminds of the scam have been identified as the businessman, Stoil Yakov, leader of the branch organization of the right-wing Democrats for Strong Bulgaria, DSB, party in the southwestern town of Petrich, and Dimitar Stoychev, from the southwestern city of Blagoevgrad, a member of the DSP leadership there.

During the special police operation, the police raided 24 facilities – coffee shops, internet clubs, and offices in Petrich, Blagoevgrad and the nearby towns of Sandanski, and Razlog along with the second largest city of Plovdiv and the nearby town of Parvomay.

The sources told Meridian Match that Yakov and Bachev are known to be very close friends with the first collecting the money from gambling and the second dealing with the legal issues of the scam, providing legal cover-up.

Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, said Saturday a former player from the Bulgarian national football team and people from the political elite were among the suspects, but refused to disclose any names.