Bulgarian police have arrested a colleague from the border authority at the Capitan Andreevo checkpoint on the Bulgarian – Turkish border on extortion and bribing accusations.

The information was reported Sunday by Commissar, Rumen Ganev, Chief of the Internal Control Directorate at the Interior Ministry. The arrest was result of a joint operation of the Internal Directorate, the Main Directorate Border Police, and the Regional Prosecutor's Office in the city of Haskovo.

The 10-day probe started after the authorities received several alerts from foreign citizens that the man in question systematically asked them for bribes, which is abuse of power, punishable by the law. The arrest happened Saturday evening and the border employee was busted red-handed, at the moment of receiving cash from a foreigner while on duty.

The man, 32, had been employed as an assistant operative worker at the Border Police Precinct in the border town of Svilengrad. He has worked for the Interior Ministry for 8 years, of them only a couple of months at Capitan Andreevo. He had never been sanctioned before.

According to the police report, he had been asking anywhere between USD 50 and 200 to assist foreign citizens in crossing the border faster. The man is held behind bars for 24 hours, before facing the judge. He will be fired from the Interior Ministry.