Police ran raids against vote buying and petty crime in the regions of Ruse, Varna, Razgrad and Sliven, and made arrests in Varna, Razgrad and Sliven, the Interior Ministry said. In the Varna region, two men are in custody on suspicion of buying votes.

The tip came in yesterday. It said votes were being bought from a car in a village in Dolni Chiflik municipality. Police say the two men, both 27, called people over and took their ID cards in return for €50. Officers from the Economic Police in Varna found the car and the men at the scene.

In their makeshift office, officers found and seized 16 mobile phones, a laptop, 6 ID cards and €50 banknotes. Pre-trial proceedings have begun and the prosecutor's office has been told. The two men are held for up to 24 hours, pending a court decision.

In the Ruse region, the operation lasts two days and began yesterday. Officers from all district police departments, the traffic police, the Gendarmerie, the Economic and Criminal Police and other units of the regional directorate are taking part. They check people, cars, shops and other sites. At checkpoints they stop passing vehicles and test drivers for alcohol and drugs. The Ruse regional police directorate (ODMVR) said it would step up work across the region until the end of the elections.

In the Razgrad region, police arrested a 35-year-old man from the village of Yasenovets, who has a criminal record and past convictions. They found methamphetamine and cannabis in polythene wraps on him. Pre-trial proceedings have begun against him under Article 354a, paragraph 3, point 1 of the Criminal Code. Two drivers were caught drunk: a 54-year-old man with more than 2.7 per mille and a 53-year-old with more than 1.5 per mille. Both face fast-track proceedings.

Officers from the Loznitsa district police department found a person who had been wanted by police. Police checked 10 pawn shops and quick-loan firms and worked in 3 places named "risk zones" based on information they received. Three teams from the Ruse unit of the Gendarmerie are also at the checkpoints with local officers. So far they have checked 98 cars and 128 people, and issued 4 citations and 19 on-the-spot fines. In total, the region has one pre-trial case, two fast-track cases and six checks.

In the Sliven region, detectives and officers from the "Zapad" police station arrested two men suspected of a series of break-ins at vending machines in the region and beyond. The case began with a smashed hot-drinks machine in the village of Zlati Voyvoda. Police found their car and stopped it in the village of Krushare. Both men have criminal records and come from the regions of Stara Zagora and Pazardzhik. They are held at the Sliven district police department. Police say they are also linked to other thefts in the Sliven region and neighbouring regions.

During the operation, Sliven police also got two reports of shop thefts. In the Nadezhda district, someone broke into premises housing a shop and took alcohol, food and cash from the till. An 18-year-old man was arrested over this theft. The manager of a shop in the town centre reported stolen alcohol, and a 24-year-old man was arrested over the case. The damage at both shops is still being worked out.