The Court of Appeal – Burgas overturned the BGN 2,000 bail of a man who illegally transported migrants, set for him by the District Court – Burgas and ordered him to be “detained in custody”.
The accused R. Sht is brought to criminal responsibility for the fact that in the period from an unspecified date, at the beginning of 2023 to 21.02.2024, in the territory of the Burgas region, he participated in an organized criminal group, formed with the aim of carrying out concerted the country crimes punishable by “imprisonment” for more than three years.
The crimes are under Art. 281, Para. 2, Item 2 of the Criminal Code, as the group was created with a selfish goal of acquiring property benefits for itself, by illegally assisting foreigners to cross the country in violation of the law – a crime under Art. 321 , paragraph 3, proposal 2, item 2, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code.
This crime is punishable by imprisonment for three to ten years.
The first-instance court took in relation to R. Sht. and three other persons from the group an initial measure of remand “Detention in custody”, which on 04.04.2024 it changed in respect of R. Sht to a “guarantee” in the amount of BGN 2,000. , after assessing that the danger of concealment or commission of a crime by the accused has disappeared for the time being.
The appellate court did not share the findings of the first instance to change the remand order to a lighter one.
The appellate judges stated that from the evidence gathered so far it is clear that this was a large-scale operation, well thought out and planned, structured and organized in a way that involved the participation of many and different persons, and expressed in the translation and transportation of foreign citizens who illegally crossed the borders of the EU through the Republic of Turkey in the Republic of Bulgaria.
The data in the case about the mechanism and duration of functioning as well as from the activity carried out by the criminal association, the appellate court found as a category of circumstances that justify the seriousness of the case and give grounds for concluding that the risk of illegal behavior of the accused is real, as well as that there is a danger that he will deviate from the ongoing investigation, thwarting its timely and lawful conclusion.
The danger of criminal behavior and absconding are also inferred from the data on his frequent trips abroad, as well as the presence of other pending criminal proceedings for an act identical to those for which the organized crime group was created.
In the ruling, the appellate panel noted that it considered an existing risk that the accused’s behavior would hinder the timely and lawful conduct of the ongoing criminal proceedings, as well as that his detention was within a reasonable period of time.
The decision of the Court of Appeal – Burgas is final and not subject to appeal or protest.
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