Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov has received and accepted the resignations of senior police officers in the town of Vratsa, northern Bulgaria, the Interior Ministry said on September 15 2009.

Tsvetanov asked for the resignations after eight Bulgarian road police officers from the town of Byala Slatina, part of Vratsa region, were arrested on suspicion of forming an organised crime ring that issued illegal traffic tickets and racketeered drivers.

An investigation launched a month ago by the ministry's internal affairs department resulted in the arrest of the eight road police officers on September 11. After a search, police found more than 3600 rounds of ammunition, a metal detector, an illegal radar and more than 500 traffic tickets.

The ring has been operating for some time, stopping cars with Bulgarian and with foreign licence plates, and was well-known in the Vratsa region. The traffic tickets were never filed with the appropriate authorities and the group kept the money.

On September 13, the head of the Byala Slatina police department, Toni Kostadinov (no relation), said he knew nothing about the group, claiming that he was yet to return from his summer leave, Focus said.

Kostadinov said he was surprised by the arrests and was not present during them.

If the entire town knew about the gang and their superior did not, that means that Kostadinov did not have enough control over the work of his people, Tsvetanov said.

Following these comments Kostadinov and Ivan Salov head of the regional police directorate in Vratsa filed their resignations.