Suspected underworld boss Ivan Todorov, who was recently shot dead in downtown Sofia, and the son of toppled Serb dictator Slobodan Milosevic, Marco, are believed to have been friends and partners in smuggling cigarettes through Bulgaria.

"Ivan Todorov, known as Doktora, and Marco Milosevic, have been part of the scheme for smuggling cigarettes through the Black Sea port of Burgas and the border checkpoint of Kalotina," Brankica Stankovic from the "Insider" broadcast of Belgrade TV channel B 92 told local Darik Radio.

Stankovic cited information about the findings of a police investigation from 2003, which reportedly prove irregularities in the business empire of Marco Milosevic.

"The report of the police, which the "Insider" broadcast first broke, says the heftiest profits came from "classic" smuggling of cigarettes thorough Bulgaria in 1996-1997. Many customs officers have been involved in the scheme," Stankovic added.

Last week the "Insider" broadcast reported that Marco Milosevic has pocketed EUR 76 M by smuggling cigarettes in the period from 1996 till 2002, citing a police investigation from 2003.

As owner of Cyprus-based "Inex Global" company, Milosevic allegedly sent to the Bulgarian port of Burgas a ship, loaded with cigarettes. After being transferred to trucks and transported to the Serbian border, the customs declarations turned the cigarettes into "furniture exports for the Hungarian market".

Serbian reports say police has conducted several investigations into the cigarette smuggling schemes since the middle of 90s, never to officially announce the results.

Now the journalists claim that the smuggling of cigarettes through Bulgaria was not without the assistance of the prominent underworld figure known as Doktora (the Doctor).

Ivan Todorov was shot dead in broad daylight in central Sofia on Wednesday. The attack heavily wounded Todorov's driver as the two were riding a Posrche Cayen in the luxurious Lozenets district.

Todorov's murder is the latest bloody salvo in Bulgaria's raging turf war, which has seen a string of bombings and shootings in the past five years without a single person convicted for the murders.

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