Stanislav Hristov, pictured, head of the pathology department at Sofias Aleksandrovska Hospital, was arrested on March 17 on charges of trading human bones and tissue. Prosecutors said Hristov had performed 98 illegal extractions of bones, tendons and other tissues, which were then sold mainly in the US. He had offered 800 leva to the families of people who had died in exchange for their permission to perform the procedure. Hristov denied the accusations but was placed under house arrest. The day after his arrest, the deputy chief of the Interior Ministrys Chief Directorate for Combating Organised Crime, Ivan Ivanov, was arrested on charges of malfeasance and leaking information to businessmen who were under investigation. The top Interior Ministrys official was arrested following information sent by the Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria party to the General-Prosecutors Office. Interior Minister Roumen Petkov told reporters he had been given sufficient evidence by the State Agency for National Security to relieve Ivanov of his duties before the arrest.
