site.btaDirector of Plovdiv Customs Office Detained

The director of the Plovdiv Territorial Directorate of the National Customs Agency, Miroslav Belyashki, has been detained for up to 24 hours, the Sofia City Prosecution Office told BTA on Wednesday. The arrest came after a raid led by the Commission for Anti-Corruption. 

Dozens of law enforcement officers were stationed at the entrances of the customs directorate, blocking access for trucks awaiting inspection and representatives of companies whose trucks were already inside. As a result, trucks were forced to park along the road outside the building, causing traffic disruptions.

Later on Wednesday, the prosecution service said that there were arrests and searches at the Plovdiv Customs Agency offices and the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing on the border with Turkiye. They also said that pre-trial proceedings are underway for malfeasance in office at the Customs Agency, related to large-scale cigarette contraband, and that "senior office holders are being probed for connection with that". 

In the course of the investigation, the authorities established an attempt to unlawfully prevent a customs inspection of a truck that was stopped at the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint. It was carrying cigarettes made in an undisclosed country outside the EU, which were bound for Romania via Bulgaria. The authorities believe that it was the first of 15 trucks which were expected to cross Bulgaria, the prosecution service said.

They further specify that the Wednesday operation was coordinated with the Director of the Customs Agency, Georgi Dimov.