site.btaOver 20 Customs Officers Detained in Operation at Koulata Checkpoint

Over 20 Customs Officers Detained in Operation at Koulata Checkpoint

Sofia, June 14 (BTA) - Over 20 customs officials have been detained in an operation at the Koulata checkpoint on the border with Greece, Ivan Geshev, Head of the Specialized Prosecution Office said. They are charged with demanding unsolicited payments from drivers passing across the border.

The investigation began two years ago. The customs officers involved would take small amounts of money from truck drivers and, in exchange, would let them go, even if they did not meet the requirements.

There were "VIP clients" in the scheme as well: a circle of companies would pay 50 to 100 leva monthly, so that their trucks would not be checked at all. Certain drivers did not have vignette stickers but still could cross the border, if they paid 10 leva. The officers would record the details of another vignette in the documents. It is believed that six companies were involved in the scheme.

Approached to comment the operation, conducted by the State Agency for National Security and the Chief Directorate for Combatting Organized Crime, which closed the Koulata checkpoint, Interior Ministry Chief Secretary Mladen Marinov said earlier in the day that only customs officers have been arrested. The Customs Agency Chief, Georgi Kostov, told journalists that the checkpoint is closed and searches and seizures are being carried out. It will remain closed for as long as necessary, but should resume operations sometime on Wednesday, Kostov said.