The mayors of Sungurlare and Belitsa have been detained for up to 72 hours on charges of influence peddling, the Burgas District Prosecutor's Office said. It will ask a court to keep the accused in custody.

Sungurlare mayor Dimitar Gavazov was detained on Tuesday. On Wednesday, police led Belitsa mayor Radoslav Revanski out of the town hall. A third person charged is already under house arrest in a separate pre-trial case. Prosecutors say all three took part in the criminal conspiracy.

The organised crime agency GDBOP and the state security agency DANS carried out raids on 20 and 21 October 2026 in Burgas and Blagoevgrad provinces. They searched municipal offices and homes in Sungurlare and Belitsa, seized many documents on public contracts awarded by both municipalities and questioned many witnesses.

The Burgas District Prosecutor's Office says the conspiracy in Sungurlare municipality was formed in early 2024, and that the evidence gathered so far points to this. Prosecutors say the criminal activity went on until October 2026. For now, the case falls under Article 321, paragraph 6 of the Criminal Code.

On Wednesday, outside the regional police directorate in Burgas, Sungurlare deputy mayor Tatyana Ivanova said the investigation is probably about four public contracts in the municipality.

Dozens of people gathered outside the Burgas police building to back Gavazov. DPS leader Peevski called the police presence "unheard of". "I say 'no' to fear, we will be here, we will be with Radi," he said.

At the end of September, the Burgas District Court moved Hristo Shirokov, the DPS regional chair in Burgas, from custody to house arrest. He was detained on 15 July in a GDBOP operation in Pomorie. He is charged with taking part in an organised criminal group which, prosecutors say, includes officials from the Burgas water utility (ViK EAD). Three others are charged in the case, among them the utility's former director, Tsvetan Mirchev.