A sixth person has been detained for 24 hours in connection with the case of the illegal nursing homes in the Bulgarian village of Yagoda, near Stara Zagora. The individual, a 62-year-old man, is expected to be charged today. Authorities say that, as the former owner of one of the homes - functioning until early 2025 - he relinquished its license and transferred the property to a commercial entity. Rooms in the building were subsequently rented out, but elderly residents continued to receive care, albeit outside the legal framework.

According to the Stara Zagora District Prosecutor Tatyana Dimitrova, this maneuver was designed to bypass penalties under the Social Services Act. Despite the official change in the facility's status, elderly care was ongoing, with no oversight or adherence to proper regulations.

On Saturday, five other individuals - two men and three women - were charged. The women had been acting as caregivers, though none were qualified to prescribe treatment or manage medication. The charges vary: some are accused of physically restraining residents, others of inflicting moderate bodily harm, withholding care, or obstructing inspections by authorities.

Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev has vowed that the law will be enforced with full severity. He described the conditions as marked by cruelty and a total absence of basic human empathy. Many of the 75 elderly residents reportedly suffer from dementia or other health conditions that leave them completely reliant on those around them. According to the minister, the people responsible exploited this helplessness in appalling ways.

During the rescue operation, some of the residents clung to police officers and wept, while medical and social workers were visibly shaken. Both homes have been shut down and all 75 residents evacuated. Eleven of them remain hospitalized, though their condition is currently stable. In one harrowing case, a woman had to undergo partial amputation - losing two toes and part of the foot sole due to prolonged neglect. Another elderly woman, aged 84, is also expected to require similar surgery.

Twenty of the residents have since been reunited with family members, while the remaining 44 have been placed in municipal and state-run facilities across Stara Zagora, Kazanlak, and Sliven.

The details came to light after a large-scale operation uncovered severe abuse in the two illegal homes - located in and around Yagoda. Authorities found elderly people tied up, drugged, and held in filthy, locked rooms. One facility housed 19 people, the other 56. Of the 75 taken out, 18 were immediately admitted to hospitals, with two in urgent need of care. Eight are being monitored in different medical wards.

At a press briefing, Minister Georgiev showed disturbing photographs, including one of an elderly man shackled in a room without handles on the inside of the door. He questioned what might have happened in the event of a fire, given that many rooms were double-locked.

The residents had been stripped of their ID cards and mobile phones upon arrival, under the pretext that these would only be returned if relatives requested them. Officially, the facilities charged 990 leva (495 euros) per month for “room rentals.” In reality, authorities say, this was a front for unauthorized elderly care.

Blood tests are underway to determine whether residents were medicated without consent. Investigators have been working around the clock, with documentation seized and evidence collected until the early hours of the morning.

The case has been linked to broader investigations into property-related crimes involving vulnerable elderly people. In recent weeks, over 100 inspections have been carried out across the country, leading to the revocation of four operating licenses. One owner voluntarily surrendered theirs, and another facility is currently under review.

Authorities say the Yagoda homes repeatedly changed their formal status to obstruct oversight. Minister Georgiev summed it up grimly: “I have never seen such horror before.”