Haskovo District Court is to hear once again Wednesday the case against the Serbian citizen Budimir Kujovic and three Bulgarians, charged with organizing a criminal network for drug trafficking, after it has been postponed five times.

The previous several hearings were put off after Kujovic's lawyer Eleonora Dolendarova presented before judges medical expertises, showing she was unable to attend the sittings due to her poor health condition.

She was imposed a BGN 500 fine as the court officials decided the document they saw was not proving Dolendarova's inability to appear in the courtroom.

Kujovic was appointed a civil defender so that the trial could be held normally.

If found guilty, Kujovic, along with alleged accomplices Nikolay Piskov, Stoyko Doychev, and Mihail Yankov, could be sentenced to 15-20 years in prison and a fine of up to 300 000.

Kujovic was arrested on December 30 last year in the city of Stara Zagora after Bulgarian customs officers at the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint with Turkey seized 60 kilograms of heroin.

His arrest and the revelation that he had a Bulgarian passport resulted in a scandal in the Bulgarian Interior Ministry that led to the resignation of its Chief Secretary Iliya Iliev.

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