PODCAST | Alleged Bulgarian organised crime middleman in hot water over fake Afrikaans identity

The “Cape of Cocaine” podcast series, which launches on November 14, will take a closer look at the activities of the Bulgarian mafia in South Africa

10 November 2022 - 15:27
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Momchil Pavlov, an alleged middleman in a Bulgarian organised crime syndicate, allegedly obtained a fraudulent South African ID under the name Gerrit Johnson.
Momchil Pavlov, an alleged middleman in a Bulgarian organised crime syndicate, allegedly obtained a fraudulent South African ID under the name Gerrit Johnson.
Image: Sourced

A Bulgarian man, alleged to be linked to an organised crime group dubbed the Bulgarian mafia by police, is in hot water after allegedly defrauding the department of home affairs.

Momchil Pavlov, who was arrested in 2010 with fellow Bulgarians Martin Ivanov and Ognyan Ognyanov in connection with credit card skimming fraud, is alleged to have created a fake identity under the unlikely name of Gerrit Johnson.

Listen to Cape of Cocaine

TimesLIVE Investigations sent questions about the alleged fraudulent ID to the department after an investigation into the Bulgarian mafia as part of a four-part special podcast.

This is the latest in a string of offences allegedly committed by the so-called Bulgarian mafia.

On March 1 last year, four Bulgarian men were arrested with nearly a tonne of cocaine on a ship in Saldanha Bay harbour.

One of the men was Asen Ivanov, who would later plead guilty to drug trafficking.

This is the photo which allegedly appears in the alleged fake identity obtained under the name Gerrit Johnson.
This is the photo which allegedly appears in the alleged fake identity obtained under the name Gerrit Johnson.
Image: Sourced

Ivanov is allegedly linked to Pavlov through an Audi Q7 which was discovered at a house in Durbanville during a Hawks raid in 2014 on what was believed to have been the preparatory stages of constructing a drug-manufacturing lab.

Hawks officers discovered a stash of money in the Audi which would later be forfeited to the state after the Western Cape High Court ruled the money could not have been earned legally.

According to court records, Ivanov told investigators at the time the Audi was his. However, vehicle ownership records seen by TimesLIVE Investigations showed the vehicle belonged to Pavlov.

Pavlov told TimesLIVE Investigations he was a car salesman and at the time the vehicle may have been in his name, but he had likely already sold it to Ivanov, whom he claimed to not know.

Ownership records seen by TimesLIVE Investigations show the vehicle was registered under the Ognyanov surname shortly before it was transferred to Pavlov. The ownership records also show the vehicle was never officially sold to Ivanov and was later registered to an insurance company in August 2014.

Pavlov, who lives in Table View in Cape Town, did not respond to questions sent about his alleged fraudulent ID.

According to department spokesperson Siya Qoba, Gerrit Johnson is a fraudulent identity linked to Pavlov through his fingerprints.

“Fingerprints captured on both ID numbers were verified and confirmed to belong to one person,” he said.

“We don’t regard the person to have two identities because one, issued to Gerrit Johnson, is clearly fraudulent. And the other one, issued to Momchil Pavlov, was legitimately acquired via [the] Immigration Act.” 

Qoba said Pavlov is a permanent resident in SA according to his home affairs status.

He added Pavlov’s alleged crimes could render him an undesirable person in SA.

“We have reported the matter to the police because we believe a crime was committed.”

The first episode of the investigative podcast, Cape of Cocaine, will air on November 14 on TimesLIVE.

To find the latest episodes, search Cape of Cocaine on the TimesLIVE website or subscribe to the Boots on the Ground podcast on Iono.fm, Spotify, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. 

TimesLIVE

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