site.btaRecently Arrested Senior Drug Enforces Remanded in Custody

Sofia, June 28 (BTA) - The Specialized Criminal Court has remanded in custody the recently arrested head of the drugs enforcement department in the Chief Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (CDCOC), Tsvetan Pankov, and the head of a drugs enforcement unit, Kiril Vankov, Bulgarian National Radio reported here Sunday.

The prosecuting magistracy demanded that three Interior Ministry officers, who took part in an organized crime group busted days ago, be remanded in custody.

The detainees said in court that they have been framed by people from the underworld, against whom they were working. The third arrested Interior Ministry employee, Vassilena Fikirliyska, has been released from custody.

Pankov, Vankov and two others were arrested on Thursday evening after taking a bribe. Later that day, the Interior Minister met with Prime Minister Boyko Borissov to inform him about the arrests and there Borissov demanded the resignation of CDCOC head Ivaylo Spiridonov and Interior Ministry's Deputy Chief Secretary Georgi Arabadjiev. The two officials resigned the same day.

The Prosecutor General's Spokesperson, Siyka Mileva, told journalists here earlier on Sunday that two of the alleged members of the organized crime group are senior officers in the CDCOC, while the third one is a police officer with the Chief Directorate National Police. The fourth participant is not an Interior Ministry employee and acted as an intermediary when soliciting bribes. Bail will be demanded for him, Mileva said.

The group was receiving bribes from drug traffickers and dealers, soliciting bribes for neutralizing competition on the illicit drug market and providing inside police information relevant to investigations. The group was active since 2017 and was discovered with help of a person who was pressured into giving bribes throughout the years, ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 leva, it transpired from the Sunday news briefing.

Supervising prosecutor Stefan Hristov said that the Interior Ministry officers could face three to ten years behind bars, fines and deprivation of rights.

The head of the Interior Ministry's Internal Security Directorate, Stefan Bavkov, described the detainees' behaviour as exceptionally arrogant, impudent and unprecedented. The two senior officers have created the perception they were working on opposite ends - one was creating the problems for the underworld, while the other one was soliciting the bribes. This practice continued for a while, Bavkov said, adding that he has deposited evidence about identical actions involving the two officers from 2014.

"The detainees are very well aware that they were patronizing drug trafficking in Bulgaria and other European countries. They were working against our partners," he said. According to him, the two have sabotaged a 2017 investigation by the Internal Security Directorate. There is also information pointing to a connection with a recent drug seizure in Sofia's Studentski Grad district, Bavkov said. MY