INTERIOR Minister Georgi Petkanov this week briefed President Georgi Purvanov on recent steps by law enforcement agencies against organised crime, smuggling, drug trafficking, prostitution and people trafficking.
After the meeting, Petkanov said that the heads of the specialised services of the Interior Ministry would also provide Purvanov with more specific information on their activities.
Petkanov said that next week the Interior Ministry would propose to Parliament, through the committee on domestic security, changes to the law to ensure more efficient measures against organised crime. Within a week the proposals would be ready to be proposed in Parliament, he said. "They will include amendments to the Penal Code, the Penal Procedure Code, as well as the Weapons Act, traffic regulations and some other bills."
Petkanov said the proposals did not include extreme measures, because since the beginning of the term of the National Movement Simeon II (NMSII), crime rates had dropped significantly. He said that in 2002 the crime rate had dropped by 41.3 per cent, compared to 1997 when it was its highest, at 228 000 crimes.
At the beginning of June, Parliament is to discuss proposals by a group of MPs and the Interior Ministry for banning the right to possess even a single dose of narcotics for personal use, he said.
"The ban would increase the work of the judiciary system and the Interior Ministry, but it is necessary because of the increased level of drug-related crimes."
After meeting Purvanov, Petkanov said that recent successes against smuggling rings dealing in equipment, antique coins, counterfeit money and cigarettes, were the result of the crime report of the Interior Ministry released last month.
Several weeks ago, Plovdiv police and the National Service for Combating Organised Crime (NSCOC) arrested customs officers, border police and several other individuals and charged them with transferring goods across the national border without the knowledge and permission of the customs authorities.
There had been fictitious exports of cigarettes in attempts to evade paying excise duty.
Last week, customs authorities in Svilengrad cracked down on a channel for smuggling domestic appliances and electronic equipment to Turkey. The authorities arrested a customs officer and three employees of a company. They have been charged with participation in a smuggling channel.
According to recent data from the Centre for the Study of Democracy, the share of the grey economy in Bulgaria is 30 to 36 per cent of GDP. Earlier this week Petkanov, Interior Ministry chief secretary Boiko Borissov, and Swedish ambassador to Bulgaria Sten Ask, inaugurated a new communication network at the Dunav Most border checkpoint between Bulgaria and Romania. The communication network, connecting the regional law enforcement agencies of Bulgaria and Romania, was put together by Swedish company Ericsson with funds provided by the EU. The new network provides the opportunity for real-time exchange of information and images between the Bulgarian and Romanian police and customs authorities.
After the meeting, Petkanov said that the heads of the specialised services of the Interior Ministry would also provide Purvanov with more specific information on their activities.
Petkanov said that next week the Interior Ministry would propose to Parliament, through the committee on domestic security, changes to the law to ensure more efficient measures against organised crime. Within a week the proposals would be ready to be proposed in Parliament, he said. "They will include amendments to the Penal Code, the Penal Procedure Code, as well as the Weapons Act, traffic regulations and some other bills."
Petkanov said the proposals did not include extreme measures, because since the beginning of the term of the National Movement Simeon II (NMSII), crime rates had dropped significantly. He said that in 2002 the crime rate had dropped by 41.3 per cent, compared to 1997 when it was its highest, at 228 000 crimes.
At the beginning of June, Parliament is to discuss proposals by a group of MPs and the Interior Ministry for banning the right to possess even a single dose of narcotics for personal use, he said.
"The ban would increase the work of the judiciary system and the Interior Ministry, but it is necessary because of the increased level of drug-related crimes."
After meeting Purvanov, Petkanov said that recent successes against smuggling rings dealing in equipment, antique coins, counterfeit money and cigarettes, were the result of the crime report of the Interior Ministry released last month.
Several weeks ago, Plovdiv police and the National Service for Combating Organised Crime (NSCOC) arrested customs officers, border police and several other individuals and charged them with transferring goods across the national border without the knowledge and permission of the customs authorities.
There had been fictitious exports of cigarettes in attempts to evade paying excise duty.
Last week, customs authorities in Svilengrad cracked down on a channel for smuggling domestic appliances and electronic equipment to Turkey. The authorities arrested a customs officer and three employees of a company. They have been charged with participation in a smuggling channel.
According to recent data from the Centre for the Study of Democracy, the share of the grey economy in Bulgaria is 30 to 36 per cent of GDP. Earlier this week Petkanov, Interior Ministry chief secretary Boiko Borissov, and Swedish ambassador to Bulgaria Sten Ask, inaugurated a new communication network at the Dunav Most border checkpoint between Bulgaria and Romania. The communication network, connecting the regional law enforcement agencies of Bulgaria and Romania, was put together by Swedish company Ericsson with funds provided by the EU. The new network provides the opportunity for real-time exchange of information and images between the Bulgarian and Romanian police and customs authorities.
