1 Military, 2 Police Officers Busted in Bulgaria Car Theft Scheme

Crime | November 3, 2009, Tuesday

2 corrupt cops and 1 military sergeant were busted as part of a car theft group. Photo by BGNES

The Bulgarian police have captured four men, including one military and two police officers, in a special operation early Tuesday morning.

A gang of total of five men, including two civilian persons, was destroyed in the special operation of the Fourth Police Department in Sofia. The men stole luxury cars in Sofia, and then sold them around the country.

They were arrested with a BMW which had been stolen from the Ministry of Finance. Several other of the cars they stole – mostly BMWs and one Land Cruiser – were found in garages around Sofia.

The leader of the gang is the 25-year-old Asen Kolev, aka “Hastara” who has two suspended sentences for thefts. The other civilian gangster known as “Perry” managed to escape and is wanted.

The two busted cops are Metodi Alexandrov and Desho Yordanov, aged 26 and 28. According to Interior Minister Tsvetanov, each of them received BGN 800 per stolen car. Their role was to singal the car thieves the location of a luxury vehicle, and then to hinder the investigation of the crime.

The third arrested officer is Sergeant Miroslav Veselinov, an employee of the “Military Information” department of the Defense Ministry. Together with the two cops he was escorting the thieves at the time of the crimes.

Minister Tsvetanov said the frequent cases of policemen involved in criminal groups could be countered efficiently by isolating the teams working on cases of corrupt officers. He said only four investigators worked on the case in question in order to keep it secret, and prevent leaks.