Bulgaria: Prosecutors Seek Permanent Arrest for Varna Mayor and Associates
The Prosecutor's Office has formally requested the permanent detention of Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev
The Prosecutor's Office in the western town of Dupnitsa is not requesting to keep behind bars Asen Berbatov, brother of Bulgaria's football star and Fulham striker, Dimitar, on charges of cocaine possession.
Asen was detained Thursday evening after police chased the car he was riding in, with another man behind the wheel, on a road close to the southwestern town of Kyustendil.
Police found 20 grams of cocaine in his car.
The driver, identified as Nikolay Hristov, has also been arrested, and is going to be released as well.
The car is owned by Asen's wife, Dimitrichka, but she has not been in it. The cocaine has been found in the padding of a child seat inside the vehicle.
The prosecutor grounds the decision on the fact the two have no criminal records. It is presumed that Berbatov has hired Borisov to drive over the pending pre-trial proceedings against him for driving without a license.
Borisov has tested positive for illegal drugs, but Asen's results are negative.
Both have declined to offer any testimony. They will be charged with illegal drugs possession and face between 1 and 6 years behind bars.
Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, commented on the case saying when it comes to crime in Bulgaria it "does not matter who is who."
Berbatov's brother has gained infamous reputation over the last few years.
In the middle of 2010 the Regional Prosecutor's Office in the southern Bulgarian city of Blagoevgrad probed Asen Berbatov for credit card draining.
On April 22, the local police searched Berbatov's house and found the cash register, used as POS terminal, and evidence of some suspicious credit card payments.
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