Stefko Kolev, president of FC "Dobrudzha" in the period 1995-1999, died on January 23, reported pronewsdobrich.bg, quoted by dariknews.bg.
Kolev is a native of Dobrich. On September 20, 2001, the entrepreneur was kidnapped and returned after his relatives paid a ransom of 1 million leva. The case became known for the fact that the money that Kolev's wife threw overboard a train at the request of the kidnappers was scattered along the railway line. Cantoner found over 100,000 leva and was rewarded for turning it over to the police.
Two months later, investigators found that two police officers had helped the gang. Danail Georgiev-Jacky and Boris Arsov-Borcho, who was from Yosko Kostinbrodski's group and was later shot, were charged with the kidnapping. However, on September 1, 2003, the Sofia City Court released five of the six accused in the kidnapping on bail of 2,500 leva.
In a television interview years later, Stefko Kolev said that his relatives collected the money demanded by the kidnappers from his friends and business partners. He paid off his debts 10 years after the kidnapping.