In a joint effort by officers from several regional police departments, ten suspects had been arrested who were thought to have been involved in robberies at different site in the country, Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said on December 20 2009.
The police operation start on December 18, when three people were arrested who had tried to break through a wall of an exchange bureau at the Grozdov Bazar (Grape Market) in Plovdiv. The three had been arrested on the spot, Bulgarian broadcaster Mediapool said.
The three had not resisted arrest, but had tried to escape, head of the local directorate of the Interior Ministry, Todor Chonov said.

In a coordinated operation, involving regional directorates of the ministry in Plovdiv, Sofia and Vratsa, another seven accomplices in the attempted robbery were later arrested. Two of the suspects, arrested in Sofia, were thought to have scouted the office in advance and prepared the robbery. The remaining five were arrested in Vratsa.
Among those arrested in Vratsa, was the former head of the regional police in Byala Slatina, who was thought to have also been involved in an extortion scheme where traffic police had extorted drivers in region.

According to Tsvetanov, it was the former head of the regional police who passed on information about possible robbery objects to the rest of the gang.
After his dismissal as head of regional police, the man had, unsuccessfully, tried to find employment as a security officer in the Vratsa Regional Court, Mediapool said.
According to Tsvetanov, this was an "extremely well-organised criminal group, which worked throughout the country. In a different configuration, the group had robbed a company in Troyan in November, and a branch of the Central Cooperative Bank in Kozloduy in August, where they had stolen 120 000 euro."
In searches of the homes of the suspects, police found equipment used in the robberies, Chonov said.

Police, together with tax authorities, would investigate property ownership of the suspects, Chonov said.