Bulgarian racers who killed four people in Sofia obtained Czech driving licences from Černošice
Two Bulgarians who on Friday during illegal street racing in Sofia caused a fatal bus crash that killed four people obtained Czech driving licences from an office in Černošice, where police conducted an operation in January on suspicion of large-scale manipulation of licence documents.
Bulgarian racers who killed four people in Sofia obtained Czech driving licences from Černošice
Two men from Bulgaria who on Friday evening caused a tragic incident during illegal car racing on the streets of Sofia have been found to possess Czech driving licences. According to an investigation by Novinky.cz, they obtained them from an office in the Central Bohemian town of Černošice, where police conducted a search in January on suspicion of large-scale manipulation of licence issuance and related corruption.
Twenty-eight-year-old Vasko Filipov and thirty-four-year-old Trayan Filipov, who according to available information are not relatives, were racing in the centre of the Bulgarian capital in luxury high-speed cars. One vehicle collided with a public transport bus at approximately 150 km/h, whilst the other struck a bus stop. As a result of the collision, two people died at the scene and two others died from their injuries in hospital. A total of seventeen people were injured.
The Czech driving licences held by the two men were issued one to two years ago. However, they were not unknown to Bulgarian police – due to previous violations, they were already on the radar of local authorities, according to the website vreme.org. According to sources from security services, their names are listed among hundreds of cases being investigated by Czech police in connection with the Černošice affair.
In late January, various police units carried out operations at the office of the Černošice municipality in Prague 2. Initial suspicions point to at least two hundred cases of possible unlawful driving licence issuance. The figure is likely to continue rising, however. Dozens of so-called "turbo licences" were obtained precisely by foreign candidates, predominantly from Eastern European countries, confirmed Josef Urban, spokesperson for the foreign police.
The Czech Police Directorate stated that it maintains regular contact with Bulgarian partners and continuously analyses information from media outlets and foreign institutions. The Prague City Prosecutor's Office confirmed that local authorities are dealing with data related to the tragic incident in Bulgaria, as the relevant conduct may be connected to criminal activity which is the subject of criminal proceedings being conducted in the Czech Republic. The Ministry of Transport stated that the obtaining of a driving licence is the subject of current criminal proceedings, for which it has filed a report.
Source: Novinky.cz
Source: Novinky.cz