Haskovo Court Releases Customs Officers from Fictitious Destruction Scheme on Bail
Magistrates found no evidence of organized crime; the amounts under the measures reach 20,000 euros
Composition of The Haskovo District Court refused to impose the most severe measure of detention “detention in custody“ and released five defendants, including two customs officers, on bail. They were brought to criminal liability for participation in an organized criminal group (OCG) for a profit-making purpose, engaged in official embezzlement and illegal use of foreign trademarks.
Complete lack of evidence of a criminal group
In the reasons for its decision, the court panel stated that from the evidence collected so far in the case it cannot be made a reasonable assumption that the men committed the crimes of which the Prosecutor's Office accuses them. According to the court, there is no will among the participants to form a permanent organized criminal group that operated in the period from January 1 to September 11, 2026.
The magistrates added that the large-scale searches and seizures carried out on September 11 by the Directorate for the Prevention of Organized Crime and the "Customs" Agency do not in themselves substantiate the indictment. The clean criminal record, steady work and good character data of the detainees were also taken into account. [
Who are the accused and what are their guarantees?
According to the investigation's findings, the scheme was linked to fictitious destruction of captured counterfeit goods (branded clothing and perfumes) seized during illegal attempts to import through the "Kapitan Andreevo" border checkpoint. Instead of being burned or cut up, the items were illegally resold.
The court ordered the following preventive measures:
- Stefan Gochev (owner and manager of the company „Terra pro int“ EOOD, hired to destroy the goods) – 20,000 euro guarantee.
- Dimitar Vangelov (customs inspector controlling the process of the checkpoint “Captain Andreevo“) – 10,000 euro guarantee.
- Stoyan Karaivanov(a renegade at the warehouse and domakin at the Mitnichesky point „Lesovo“) – 10,000 euro guarantee.
- Ivan Ivanov and Karagyoz Dimitrov(two employees of VV firmat for humiliation) – by 1000 euro guarantee
The determination at the District Court in Haskovo is not final and is subject to protest or appeal before the Appeal Court in Plovdiv within the legislative deadline.