Two nabbed over links to police officer’s killing on Bulgarian border

EDİRNE

Two suspects have been nabbed for alleged involvement in the killing of Bulgarian border police officer Petır Bicvarov in the northwestern province of Edirne.

A hunting rifle used in the incident and 23 hunting cartridges were seized during the search on the suspects, identified only by the initials E.E. and M.E., the governor’s office said.

“We convey our condolences to the Bulgarian Police Force and the people of Bulgaria for this tragic incident,” it added.

The Bulgarian police officer was shot dead by an unidentified person on the border with Türkiye on Nov. 8.

The incident occurred when the border police officer and a soldier were patrolling near the village of Golyam Dervent, according to Bulgarian Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev.

The two officers had allegedly saw damage on the barbed wire fencing the border before “shots rang out.”

The 30-year-old policeman died at the scene, while the serviceman was uninjured.

Bulgaria had already stepped up measures after two policemen were killed by a bus carrying migrants in late August.

According to official figures, around 12,700 illegal immigrants have been detained in the country since the start of 2022, two-and-a-half times more than the same period last year.

Most migrants arriving in Bulgaria from the Middle East use the country as a transit corridor to western Europe.