site.btaUPDATED Court Remands Plovdiv Customs Office Director in Custody

The Sofia City Court imposed Thursday the most severe detention measure - remand in custody - against the director of Plovdiv Territorial Directorate of the National Customs Agency, Miroslav Belyashki. He was detained during a specialised police operation on Wednesday. 

The court accepted the thesis of the state prosecution service that a reasonable assumption could be made that the accused was involved in the commission of an official offence for which he was held criminally liable, consisting in actions to prevent a customs inspection of a truck carrying cigarettes. 

According to the prosecution service office, the truck in question was with Georgian registration, entered Bulgaria through Kapitan Andreevo border crossing and was destined to reach the Netherlands. The accused travelled to the checkpoint without having been duly commanded to do so, with the intention of releasing the truck from inspection and ensuring the convoy of the cargo to Vidin through the territory of the country. 

Belyashki asked the court for a lighter measure. 

The court's order is not final and is subject to appeal or protest before the Sofia Appellate Court. In case of such, the case is scheduled for May 8. 

According to the defendant's defense attorney Kristiyan Mirchev, the detention measure taken is inappropriate for this case. "At first glance there seems to be a high degree of public danger. However, I, despite my function as a defense attorney, strongly disagree that this measure is applicable in the present proceedings. Moreover, evidence is yet to be collected. Everything is at an early stage," he said. 

"I think it is completely unjustified for my client to remain in custody until concrete evidence is collected," Mirchev added. 

After the hearing, the representative of the state prosecution, prosecutor Nikolay Gugushev, clarified that the charge is for a crime of office. "You heard that a territorial director of a customs office, which has nothing to do with the Kapitan Andreevo customs checkpoint, goes to a truck with cigarettes and asks for its release from the place where it is guarded," he said. The prosecutor stressed that there were suspicions of many irregularities and that there was classified information in the case. He said there was evidence of another person's involvement but did not specify further information.

Belyashki was detained after a raid led by the Commission for Anti-Corruption on Wednesday. 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.