Former customs-officer Ivailo Ivanov (36) was shot dead in Sofia's Drouzhba residential district on the evening of November 22.

Ivanov had a transport business and, according to unofficial information, was involved in smuggling, mediapool.bg reported.

Interior Ministry representatives confirmed that he was under investigation for trafficking.

A diplomatic briefcase with 20 000 leva in it was found next to Ivanov's body. The number of cartridges found at the crime scene suggested that an automatic weapon had been used in the murder. Ivanov was found dead in front of Drouzhba's 182nd apartment block.

Ivanov left the Customs Agency in 2004. According to unconfirmed information, it was at about that time that he became the subject of a police investigation of a smuggling group in the Stara Zagora region, mediapool.bg said.

Ivanov was said to have had contact with Petar Iliev, who was shot in 2004 and was considered to be close to Nikolai Metodiev, who has been alleged to be a large-scale smuggler.

Ivanov was the sole proprietor of Translink Shipping and had shares in other companies as well.