A channel for illegal imports of meat from Ukraine may be behind the murder of the no.3 in Bulgaria's customs administration Shinka Manova in October 2005, a media investigation has shown.

Shinka Manova, 45, Chief Customs Officer and her driver, 25, were shot dead at a crossroad, while driving in a Toyota jeep in Gotse Delchev district in southern Sofia.

Witnesses said the killer fired three shots at the jeep after which the driver lost control and crashed into a nearby block of apartments.

Manova used to be a customs inspector at Sofia Airport, she later worked in Gorublyane customs and was then appointed Chief of a customs direction that dealt with auditing duty taxes. This position placed her third in rank within the customs services structure.

Her murder was Bulgaria's first ever public assassination of a high-ranking government official. The investigation however was mysteriously suspended and the killer never found.

One of the versions has been pointing to Manova's 25-year-old driver as the suspected murderer. He was allegedly known to the police, previously charged with assault and hooliganism, and had served time in prison. He is said to have worked in a company operated by Manova's ex-husband.

An investigation of local 24 Hours daily however claims that Manova's involvement in a scheme for smuggling meat from Ukraine led to her death.

At that time Bulgaria was not a member of the European Union, but as an associated member was obliged to abide by the customs legislation. Since meat imports from Russia, Ukraine, India and China were banned from sales in EU, the frozen packages, which entered Bulgaria through the port of Burgas, were re-packed and labeled "Made in Bulgaria".

The channel for the illegally imported meat, which was purchased at low prices and sold at doubly inflated prices, was managed by a branch of the Ukrainian mafia. The profits ran into millions of euros.

As a customs chief Manova detected the scheme and asked the Ukrainians to pay her a fee for letting the imports into the country, a demand, which cost her life, the daily writes.

After the scheme with the meat imports was revealed by the authorities, the Ukrainians quickly withdrew from the country.