A Burgas police officer told journalists how his superiors ordered him to arrest a specific person, whose car was to „contain“ illegal weapons and drugs, and how he was instructed to lie in his report by including false information. The video with the statements of Senior Police Officer Dimitar Nikolov from the Specialized Police Forces (SPF) of the Burgas District Police Directorate was shared on social media by the civic association BOEC. In front of the camera, the officer also expressed his suspicions about links between Director of the Regional Directorate, Senior Commissioner Vladimir Marinov, appointed on September 5, 2024, and Nikolay Filipov.
It is worth recalling that BOEC has repeatedly claimed that Nikolay Filipov is a vote dealer for Delian Peevski and a business partner of Martin Bozhanov – The Notary.
After sharing his story, Senior Police Officer Nikolov called for a meeting with the Minister of the Interior and announced that he would resign.
The video began with a statement from lawyer Dimcho Todorov, who shared: „On Friday, I was engaged as the defense attorney for Anton Ivanov, whose car contained a weapon with a silencer, erased license plates, and a narcotic substance. During the initial interview, I immediately pointed out that, in my opinion, my client had nothing to do with the items found in the car, and I was convinced that we would manage to gather evidence in a short period proving that this was an absolute setup, and that my client had nothing to do with the weapons or drugs found in the vehicle. That’s why I allowed myself to say even then that sometimes the truth is more important than the facts.“.
„Shortly after the session ended, and I am glad that the court released him on a „Cash Bail“ of BGN 2000, as there was no evidence that he had handled the items, I was contacted by the lawyer of the police officer who wrote the report. The police officer who carried out the very arrest of Anton Ivanov and the same in view of the fact that after he saw what happened with the case and after he had enough time to think about it, he wants to submit one piece of information to you, and I ask you to leave him as a free account to state everything that happened, and then he will answer questions.“
This is how the story of the man in uniform begins: „I am the police officer who detained Anton Ivanov on the evening of February 5th, around 9:00 PM, and I will tell you in detail what happened. On February 5th, from 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM on February 6th, I had a night shift. Around 7:00 PM, when I entered the Specialized Police Forces (SPF) sector where we are located, I signed the daily log, in which we sign in for each shift, and in the order we are working on. The order mentioned that from 10:00 PM to 12:00 AM, we should perform patrol duty in the area of the Second District Police Department, and before that, from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM, we had a training session, for which a separate schedule is made. Shortly after, my colleague Krasimir Hristov, who is the commander of our unit, received a phone call from the sector chief, Svetlomir Mudev, who explained that we should quickly get dressed and head toward ‘Meden Rudnik,’ which surprised me a bit, as, as I mentioned, at 10:00 PM, we were supposed to be on the territory of the Second District Police Department. Nevertheless, we got dressed as quickly as possible. When getting into the car, my colleague showed me a Viber chat, in which Svetlomir Mudev had sent him the details of the car, specifically a ‘Volkswagen Polo’ with the license plate number A****MR, blue in color, along with a photo of Ivanov.“
Dimitar Nikolov shared that they quickly headed towards the „Meden Rudnik“ neighborhood, and during the drive, his colleague received another call from Svetlomir Mudev, who explained that the individual was currently in a gym, where he was training. The car had been parked, and they were instructed to stop it near the gym. They were told to wait for the person to get into the car, and once he started driving, they should stop him for a check. They were told to first search for drugs in the car and then for weapons.
„They also told us to be careful how we do our job because we would be monitored. I don’t know by whom,“, he claimed.
„Shortly after, we arrived at „Meden Rudnik“ near the gym and identified the vehicle that had been provided to us. I was driving the service vehicle, positioning it so that I had a clear line of sight to the car. We waited on the spot for about an hour and a half to two hours, until around 20:55 when the individual got into the car and drove towards Alexander Georgiev – Kodzhakafaliya Boulevard. We followed the vehicle. On the boulevard, near block 279, we activated the lights and stopped the vehicle for a check. We approached the car, and my colleague introduced himself to the individual, requesting both his ID and the vehicle documents. We instructed the individual to turn off the car engine and get out, explaining that a personal search would be conducted. We asked him if he had any prohibited substances or items on him, to which he replied that he did not,“, he added.
The law enforcement officer checked the individual, who, according to him, was fully cooperative. No prohibited items or substances were found on him. He was then informed that the vehicle would need to be checked. Regarding this, Nikolov says:
„When we approached the vehicle for inspection, a black bag was found under the back seat containing a gun, a suppressor, and several bags of white substances in chunks, which, after a field test, later did not react to being a narcotic. Anton Ivanov was detained. After that, we reported to the duty officer. We also reported to the head of the SPS sector, Svetlomir Mudev, who explicitly ordered us orally to write in the report that the whole check was random and that there was no prior information about it, which was not true. He explained to us that the order, which I mentioned earlier, that we signed, stated that we were supposed to be on the territory of the Second District Police Department from 10:00 PM to midnight to carry out patrol activities, and before that, we were supposed to conduct training. This shocked me and made me think that I had been caught up in some kind of scheme and in the orders of someone.“
Dimitar Nikolov also showed the order he talked about at the beginning and which he was told would be replaced.
„These things made me believe that what is being said is true, and that the Burgas Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior is not actually being managed by Senior Commissioner Vladimir Marinov, but rather by Nikolai Filipov Filipov – a businessman with a rather dubious reputation and a partner of late Martin Bozhanov – the Notary. As everyone knows, Nikolai Filipov Filipov has close ties with the director of the Burgas Regional Directorate, the deputy director of the Burgas Regional Directorate, the head of the Criminal Police, the head of the Security Police, the head of the Special Operations Unit of Burgas, and the head of the Second District Police Department.“
The police officer also recalled: „In May 2024, the colleagues from the Criminal Police, who uncovered the fuel smuggling at Port Europe in Burgas – what happened to them after Senior Commissioner Vladimir Marinov took office? All of them, who had done their job honorably and honestly, were demoted and transferred to district police stations. That is exactly why I want to express my huge disappointment with the Ministry of the Interior system and, most of all, with the Burgas Regional Directorate. The last 6 months, since these people took charge, have no parallel in Bulgaria in such matters. Today, I am going to the Directorate to submit my resignation from the Ministry of the Interior. I would like to request a meeting with the Minister of the Interior through you. I will also report this incident to Internal Security Department.“
Expert: Electricity prices are very high, TPPs bear the burden
