An unknown sniper shot dead alleged underworld boss Georgi Iliev in a bar in Sunny Beach, on the Black Sea coast.

Iliev was killed at around 11:30 pm on Thursday with a single shot in the heart area while talking on his mobile in local Budha Bar in front of the eyes of scores of witnesses.

He was immediately rushed to local polyclinics, but later police said he had died on the way there.

The incident occurred less than an hour after Iliev's football club Lokomotiv-Plovdiv defeated 1-0 Serbia's OFK Beograd and made a historic 28-year breakthrough into the UEFA qualifiers.

Georgi Iliev has had an alleged command of Bulgaria's underworld over the last decade. His brother Vassil Iliev founded the lifeguard and later insurance company VIS-2, which became a household name for the roots of Bulgarian underworld.

Vassil Iliev was killed in April 1995. One of their closest business partners and also an alleged drug market boss - Anton Miltenov dubbed The Beak - was shot dead on July 31, 2005.