One More Car Torched in Bulgaria's Sofia

One of the dozens of cars that have been torched in Sofia over the past three weeks. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency.

'The series of car arsons in Bulgaria's capital Sofia has continued, as one more vehicle was set on fire overnight on Tuesday.

Around 01:15 on Tuesday, an Opel Astra was set ablaze in Sofia's suburban district of Vladaya, bringing the total number of car arsons in the recent weeks to at least 52.

The recent days have seen similar incidents spread to other cities and towns around the country.

A total of three suspects have been detained by police authorities in Sofia in relation with the arson cases.

Yuliyan Kovachki, 29, was arrested Friday – it was revealed that he knew the majority of his victims and committed the arsons over anger from being unemployed in the last two years. He admitted to 12 arson cases, but had been indicted for 5 over lack of evidence. In Court, however, he claimed innocence. In addition to being unemployed it was reported that he was an orphan and often abused alcohol.

The authorities did not establish a link between Kovachki and Vladislav Nikolov AKA "Kukata" (The Hook), 33, who was detained Tuesday, again as a suspect in the arsons. Nikolov, who also has a long rap sheet, was left Friday by the Sofia District Court under permanent detention.

The last suspect was arrested overnight Saturday in Sofia. Tests showed he had been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the arrest.

The police say that the arsons were committed by several groups with different motives and some have been Kovachki's copycats.

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