Five Bulgarian Customs Officers to Remain in Custody

The Specialized Criminal Court on Sunday decided to keep five customs officers working at the agency's Varna unit in custody after they had been indicted on corruption charges.

Earlier last week, 25 customs officers were detained as part of an investigation into a corruption scheme the prosecution says had been underway at port Varna - West.

Allegedly, the officers demanded and took more than BGN 0.7 M in bribes, receiving between BGN 50 and 600 per shipping container granted undisturbed passage through the customs.

The head of Varna - West unit of the agency is also among those indicted.

Each of the defendants faces up to 6 years behind bars if found guilty.