‘Bulgarian bullets’ used to shoot Toby
Mohammed Siddique, deceased
BULLETS which killed a businessman had come from a Bulgarian weapons factory, a murder trial heard.
The nine millimetre rounds were not usually associated with gun crime in Britain because they were designed to fit Eastern European pistols and sub-machine guns, said ballistics expert Martin Connolly.
Millionaire landlord Toby Siddique (38), was gunned down in a flat in Glenrothes. His brother, Mo (42), is accused of arranging the murder with the help of Bulgarians Tencho Andonov (28), and Deyan Nikolov (27).
A painstaking search in the aftermath of the shooting uncovered four cartridge cases and two bullets - one on the settee in the flat and another in the garden.
Mr Connolly said there was evidence of at least four shots being fired.
He reckoned one round had hit the window frame of the flat’s sitting room and ricocheted back onto the settee. Another had gone through the window into the garden after hitting something else in the room, which could have been a person.
Two bullets were taken from the body of Toby Siddique during a post-mortem.
Mr Connolly said tell-tale markings on the ammunition showed that the same weapon had fired all four shots. He identified the ammunition as full metal jacket 9mm Makarov rounds made in 1998 at the Friedrich Engels factory in Kazanluk, Bulgaria.
Mr Connolly knew of only two self-loading pistols designed to take such ammunition - a CZ83 of Czech origin and a Russian-made Makarov.
He told advocate depute John Scullion QC, prosecuting, that it could not be used safely in most handguns in Britain.
The trial, which began in October, has heard of a history of business disputes between the Siddique brothers.
Bulgarian delivery man Andonov is alleged to have pulled the trigger, for a £18,000 fee, after Toby Siddique was lured to the Forres Drive flat with a promise of cheap cigarettes and liquor.
Andonov and Nikolov - described as a student and part-time bouncer - along with Mo Siddique all deny conspiracy to murder and murdering Toby Siddique.
The Bulgarians also say they have alibis for the time of the shooting.
The trial continues.
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Tuesday 21 May 2013
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