Special surveillance devices were applied legally to wiretap the telephone of the head of the Bulgarian Customs Agency, Vanyo Tanov, according to a Parliamentary Committee.

The news connected with the investigation of "Tapegate", the leaking of several tapes of conversations between senior Bulgarian officials, came Wednesday from Yavor Notev, chair of the parliamentary committee for control of special surveillance devices.

The wiretapping scandal in Bulgaria started with a media leak of the Bulgaria's Customs Agency Head Vanyo Tanov's recorded phone conversations with Finance Minister Simeon Djankov, in which, Tanov states that Tsvetanov has wanted to appoint "his own people" at the Customs Agency. According to other transcripts, the ruling centrist GERB MPs Iskra Fidosova and Menda Stoyanova have also tried to lobby with Tanov to hire their candidates at key Customs positions.

New tapes were published later by the Galeria weekly, a paper believed to be the mouthpiece of the former special agent of the State Agency for National Security, DANS, (currently under house arrest), has been investigated on organized crime charges since his detention in the much advertised "Operation Octopus" in February 2010.

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, who is also in one of the discrediting tapes, has declared that the tapes are forged and manipulated.

According to MP Yavor Notev, the Parliamentary inspection showed that the special surveillance devices were used as part of an investigation of contraband and organized crime in the Customs Agency.

Notev also said that the crimes were committed by a large group of people, who were investigated through special surveillance devices, which were the only way of getting proofs against theme.

He pointed out that it was yet to be investigated when the tapping devices were used and whether Tanov's conversations that were published in the media were part of the same investigation.

"The procedure for the application and permission for using special surveillance devices is totally in accordance with the legal requirements," Notev said.

The permission for tapping Tanov's phones was issued by the Sofia City Court, which confirms the earlier statements of the Sofia Prosecutor's Office that it had not handled any wiretapping requests with respect to Tanov.

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