A brutal Bulgarian gangster, notorious for slicing off victims' fingers and ears, was caught in London on an alert from an investigation of The Sun.

Tihomir Georgiev, 43, AKA Tisho The Boxer — suspected of murder — was on Interpol's "most wanted" list after fleeing a trial in Bulgaria, the Sun writes.

In the article, Georgiev is presented as a former associate of "Zlatomir Ivanov (AKA Zlatko Baretata - The Beret, The Barret), a ruthless Bulgarian mafia boss who controlled a vast empire based on drug-dealing, prostitution and money-laundering," and a criminal who "tried to get off charges by testifying against Ivanov — and gave chilling evidence of how he had butchered double-crossing drug dealers for his boss."

In Bulgaria, the case against Baretata is in final stage. In addition to illegal drugs trafficking and participation in organized crime, he is charged with plotting the murder of Rumen Stefanov AKA Alf. There are a total of 21 defendants in the trial

In February 2009, Ivanov turned himself in, after authorities issued a nation-wide search warrant for him.

The trial against Baretata began in May 2010 only to start from scratch at the end of the year, after one of the jurors was charged with child pornography in November. Petar Georgiev was detained October 22 during a special police operation codenamed "Pedophiles."

All 107 witnesses and 52 exerts are being questioned all over again.

In October, 2011 the Sofia Court of Appeals released Baretata under house arrest after he complained about stress and a urinary infection following surgery.

As a witness in the case, Tisho The Boxer, told the Sofia City Court that Baretata's gang was involved in traffic and sale of cannabis, heroin, methamphetamines, and cocaine, and in contract murders, such as the one of Alf.

In July 2010, The Boxer also revealed that the gang was plotting the murder of another top criminal – Dimitar Vuchev AKA Dembi and that the bodies of the murder victims were buried or burned.

Tihomir Georgiev was also the main witness of the prosecution in the case against Krasimir Marinov AKA The Big Marguin, but his testimony was not deemed sufficient evidence.

The Sun found out that The Boxer worked at a gym in Bermondsey and tipped-off Scotland Yard's Extradition Unit, whose officers raced to the South London boxing gym. Georgiev, still wearing shorts, had been seized under a European Arrest Warrant. He had hurled abuse at The Sun's photographer as he was led away in handcuffs.

The publication reminds that "the brute — suspected of crimes including murder, — was top of Interpol's "most wanted" list after jumping bail and fleeing a trial in his native Bulgaria."

According to The Sun, The Boxer is also suspected of murdering one of his own dealers for disobeying an order; skipped his GBP 20 000 bail and fled to London before the trial ended.

He had spent months living rough on the capital's streets until the owner of Rooney's Gym in Bermondsey had taken pity on him. Unaware of Georgiev's crime links, John Rooney Jr had given him a room to sleep in and allowed him to train and spar with other members of the gym.

On December 7, Georgiev had even gotten money to fight at "Judgment Day 8" — a "white collar" boxing event at South London's Ministry of Sound nightclub and had been featured on a promotional poster.

Scotland Yard had confirmed a man of 43 had been held over a murder in Bulgaria and was in custody at a London police station.

The full text of The Sun article read HERE.

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