Bulgarian crime boss shot and wounded in Sofia

Bodyguards carry the wounded Zlatomir Ivanov after he was shot in front of the Supreme Court of Appeal in Sofia yesterday.A Bulgarian crime boss nicknamed ‘The Beret’ was shot and wounded as he entered a court in central Sofia yesterday to attend an appeal against his conviction for running a drug trafficking gang. Zlatomir Ivanov, 44, was shot four times in his legs, arm and stomach as he was entering the court in broad daylight for an appeal against his eight-year jail sentence, police said. Ivanov and his bodyguard, who was also wounded, were taken to hospital, where Ivanov was due to undergo surgery. Local media say Ivanov was a member of a special police force known as ‘The Berets’. Because of health problems, he had been allowed to remain under house arrest awaiting his appeal.