Former Olympic weightlifting champion Galabin Boevski called himself “a free man” as he made his first statement after surprisingly getting an early release from a Brazilian jail.

“I am a free man, this is what matters most. Leave me alone. I will never go back to Brazil, I woe nothing to this country,” Boevski told reporters, who have been waiting for him since early morning on Thursday in front of his home on Bulgaria boulevard in the capital Sofia.

He declined to answer the question what he carried in his luggage when he was arrested, boarding a plane at Sao Paulo's airport.

Boevski explained he has been issued a document for expulsion in March, adding he is very much surprised by the media huge interest in his return.

In May 2012, Boevski was sentenced by a federal court in Sao Paulo to 9 years, 4 months in prison after trying to board a plane at the city's airport with 7.2 kilograms of cocaine in his luggage.

He surprisingly returned to Bulgaria Wednesday evening.

In its evening broadcast, the public television, the Bulgarian National Television, BNT, aired footage, showing Boevski at the Sofia international airport, arriving on a flight from Paris and greeted by his family.

Only BNT reporter, Yordan Dimitrov, has been at the airport to film the arrival and try to get some details.

When approached by Dimitrov, the athlete refused any comment as did the Bulgarian embassy in Brazil, and his Bulgarian lawyer.

Bulgarian officials, including the justice minister and chief prosecutor, said on Thursday that they were caught by surprise by Boevski's release.

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