site.btaCustoms Officers Detained on Bulgarian-Turkish Border, Traffic Temporarily Suspended at Lessovo Border Crossing

Customs Officers
Detained on Bulgarian-Turkish Border,
Traffic Temporarily Suspended at Lessovo Border Crossing


Sofia, November 2 (BTA) - Customs officers from two shifts at
the Lessovo border crossing on the Bulgarian-Turkish border have
been detained in a large scale operation by the State Agency
for National Security and the Supreme Cassation Prosecution
Office. According to the prosecution authorities, the customs
officers received unlawful payments.

Members of the public tipped the authorities that officers
demanded money, a spokesperson for the prosecution said.

The border crossing was closed to traffic for several hours. As
a result a 5-km line of heavy trucks and cars had formed, a BTA
reporter said. On Sunday afternoon Lessovo resumed operation,
staffed with replacements from other border crossings.

The investigation continues.

The operation, ordered and coordinated by Prosecutor General
Sotir Tsatsarov and SANS chief Vladimir Pisanchev, started at
23.30 hrs on Saturday. The leadership of the Customs Agency and
its chief Vanyo Tanov cooperated fully with the investigators,
the prosecution said. PK/PP