The man, who was killed Sunday night in a shoot-out between the police and members of a highway robbery gang, has been identified as Dimitar Mitrev – Bogrovetsa.

The criminal is believed to be a member of a robbery gang, called “The crocodiles”, which has turned over the last few months Bulgarian highways into crime scenes.

Mitrev was killed after he and his fellow gangsters stopped the car of a Turkish national disguised as policemen. They handcuffed him, stole his money and possessions and abandoned him on Trakiya highway near Vakarel.

When police intervened, the criminals opened fire and Mitrev was killed in the following shoot-out. His accomplice managed to run away unhurt and now the police is after him.

Mitrev was dressed up as a policemen, wore a mask on his face with a “Police” inscription on it. He carried two radio stations.

Talking for the Bulgarian National Radio, Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said that the police has been tracking down this criminal gang for a long time and this was the reason why the raid proved a success.

The minister pointed out that Turkey's Ambassador in Bulgaria has recently expressed concerns with the rising number of highway robberies and has insisted that security measures are tightened.