Ljubljana - Police Commissioner Anton Olaj has ordered for the investigation of death threats to Slovenia's top officials and MPs to be taken over by a task force headed by the Criminal Police Directorate at the General Police Directorate.

A press release issued by the General Police Directorate said the task force also included investigators from the Ljubljana Police Department and Criminal Police Directorate.

They are investigating suspicions of the crime of making threats, collecting inquiries and conducting other investigating procedures. The forensic investigation of the items seized is being conducted by the National Forensic Laboratory.

The release said the task force took over due to the demanding nature of the investigation of what was a large number of same-type criminal offences committed over a short period of time where the threats involved ammunition sent to the addresses of senior police officials.

Mail containing death threats and bullets had been sent to the addresses of Prime Minister Janez Janša and Defence Minister Matej Tonin, and mail that only contained a bullet had been received by Interior Minister Aleš Hojs.

Media reports initially said that both Janša and Tonin received the threatening mail to their home addresses on Friday, but Tonin's party New Slovenia (NSi) later said that the mail addressed to him had been intercepted by the postal service before it reached his home.

Threatening letters addressed to the deputy groups of the opposition Pensioners Party (DeSUS) and New Slovenia (SNS) have also been intercepted by the parliamentary mail service. SNS leader Zmago Jelinčič and DeSUS MP Robert Polnar have confirmed receiving threatening mail at their home addresses as well.

Some media have reported that similar mail has also been addressed to Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek.

Earlier today, the Ljubljana Police Department said they were looking into a total of eight cases of threatening mail, all of which had been seized and secured as evidence.