We have done a lot of work, without wanting to sound immodest, but we report a fruitful year with good results for the service. This was told to "Focus" by the director of the "Military Police" Brigadier General Ivaylo Sotirov.
"You know that a large part of our work remains hidden from the public, because such is the nature of the tasks we perform. You know that we are a specialized service and a large part of the cases we investigate are classified information. The important thing is that the results of our activities are visible. For the first time in 10 years, no serviceman has died in a traffic accident. We have convictions for possession and distribution of drugs. We have increased inspections and activity on reports of crimes against the person. We have carried out dozens of escorts of our and international convoys and railway echelons for exercises and training. We are effectively combating corruption and threats to security. We have no shortcomings in the protection of Bulgarian and international delegations. All this is a result of the effective work of the employees of the "Military Police" service.
This is the place to congratulate them for the job well done and the high results we achieve. I would like to thank the Minister of Defense Atanas Zapryanov for the trust he has placed in us, which in turn enables our employees to calmly and conscientiously carry out their tasks in the interests of the armed forces and Bulgarian society. In 2025, the "Military Police" service will further strengthen its control functions in all aspects of military police activity," he also commented.
"Thanks to our preventive activities, we have achieved a lot in the work of curbing the distribution and use of narcotics among military personnel and civilian employees of the Ministry of Defense. The cases identified over the past year are similar in result to those of previous years, which is also a result of the general preventive activities of the leaders at all levels. Given the legal powers and in accordance with the current assessment of the security environment in 2024, the forces and means of the "Military Police" service remained focused on detecting, preventing and curbing threats to the security of the Ministry of Defense, the structures directly subordinate to the Minister of Defense, the Bulgarian Army, joint facilities, as well as commercial companies in which the rights of the state are exercised by the Minister of Defense," said Gen. Ivaylo Sotirov.
"Misdemeanors among military personnel are not much different from those among civilians. I can say that thanks to our employees, we have minimized the cases of any violence in the ranks of the army, the number of uniformed personnel who get behind the wheel after drinking alcohol is relatively small. As it became clear, we have no deaths on the road. We always publicize cases in which there is a crime of public interest. We do everything to uncover crimes in the army. I am confident that, especially after the increase in the salaries of military personnel, cases of corruption and misuse of financial resources will become less and less. We are working in this direction," he emphasized.