Constantia murder victim a Bulgarian fugitive on Interpol red notice

The man gunned down in Constantia was wanted by Interpol. Picture: Interpol

The man gunned down in Constantia was wanted by Interpol. Picture: Interpol

Published May 26, 2023

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Cape Town – One of the four people who were gunned down in Constantia, Cape Town, has been named as a wanted fugitive by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).

On Thursday, police confirmed the shooting of four Bulgarian nationals, two men and two women.

Western Cape police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut said they were shot at 8.20am on Thursday.

He said that the motive was yet to be determined, with detectives hard at work in search of clues.

However, it has been revealed that one of the men is 55-year-old Krasimir Nikolaev Kamenov, who was placed on Interpol’s red notice in April.

His wife, housekeeper, and bodyguard were also gunned down.

Kamenov, nicknamed Kuro, was wanted on suspicion of death threats, extortion and murder by Bulgarian authorities.

He is alleged to have ordered the murder of a former police officer from Lozenets.

According to Radio Bulgaria, Kamenov was also accused by the prosecutor’s office of being complicit in a conspiracy to discredit high-ranking magistrates and police officers.

Bulgarian National Television said the country’s Foreign Ministry had confirmed it was maintaining contact with the relevant authorities in South Africa.

The public broadcaster said the former police officer, Lyubomir Ivanov, was shot dead in Sofia in March 2022. Two people were arrested.

Petar Petrov, of the Sofia Directorate of the Ministry of Interior, told the broadcaster the main motive on which the investigation was working was unsettled financial relations, but assured that it involved criminal activity.

By the end of last year, police had raided properties and warehouses linked to businessman Kamenov.

In March 2023, the prosecutor’s office formally charged Kamenov in absentia.

He was a fugitive at the time.

Western Cape police have made no arrests linked to the murders of Kamenov and three others.

Western Cape MEC of police oversight and community safety, Reagan Allen, said no details were available and urged the public to assist enforcement agencies and come forward with any information they might have.

“I will engage the SAPS provincial commissioner to keep me updated on how the investigation is progressing. Those who committed this horrific crime must immediately be found and convicted. We have to stop all forms of killings,” Allen said.

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