BORDER OFFICERS ACCUSED OF TAKING BRIBES WERE REMANDED IN CUSTODY

The appeal court in Bulgaria’s second largest city of Plovdiv remanded in custody the 6 police and customs officers accused of taking bribes.

11 officers were detained during a specialized operation at the beginning of October.

Some 30 customs officers were present at the court sitting to support their colleagues. They refused to give statements to the media.

The police and customs officers were exposed based on information provided by an anonymous witness, a haulier who many times passed through Kapitan Andreevo border crossing. The witness said he was asked to give bribes between 70 and 600 dollars for faster clearance process and to avoid customs checks.

The receiving of the bribes was recorded by the anonymous witness. The prosecutor’s office said that two of the defendants are still being sought because they were fleeing. Еvidence and the recordings from the cameras at the checkpoint will be provided next week to see which officers were on shift at the time of taking the bribes.