‘Mr Fixit’ who arranged murder of Fife businessman died in jail of drugs overdose

Deyan Nikolov, 33, was found dead in his cell at HMP Glenochil near Alloa in June 2018.

Sheriff Neil Bowie ruled that he died after overdosing on cocaine.He said there were no precautions which could reasonably have been taken to avoid his death.

Nikolov, 33, was hired to arrange the murder of Toby Siddique who had been in a dispute with his brother Mo.

The latter plotted with Nikolov who then instructed fellow countryman, Tencho Andonov, to kill Toby in the Tanshall area of Glenrothes.

The four-month trial of Nikolov, Siddique and gunman Andonov was one of the longest murder trials in recent Scottish history.

It heard Toby was lured to a flat with the promise of contraband cigarettes and alcohol after the brothers fell out over the family business.

He was shot once in the face and blasted again as he lay defenceless on the ground.

The trio were eventually caught after Nikolov missed his getaway flight by forgetting his passport. The murder weapon has never been found.

Nikolov was originally given an 18-year sentence which was increased to a minimum term of 23 years by the Court of Appeal in Edinburgh.

Siddique was jailed for a minimum of 25 years and Andonov for 29 years which was later reduced to 27.

Because Nikolov died in the custody of the Scottish Prison Service it is standard practice for Fatal Accident Inquiry to be held.

It heard that the prisoner presented as one whose behaviour did not cause staff concern.

He assisted as a translator for a prisoner who spoke only Russian, and was noted to be happy to assist prison staff in this respect.

He was employed within the prison engaged in hairdressing. He had plans to undertake an Open University course.

The FAI was told that in October 2017 a “code blue” was called in respect of Nikolov when he was found unresponsive in his cell. He came round slowly and medical staff queried whether he may have consumed something which caused his presentation.

One the night of his death in 2018, he was locked in his single occupancy cell.

In the morning, a prison officer found him lying on the floor of his cell face down.

There was a plastic bag in the vicinity of his head although not over his head or obstructing his airways. Mr Nikolov was cold to touch and unresponsive.

The Officer called a “code blue” alert and Nikolov was declared dead at the scene.

A search of the cell by police found several bags containing white powder which turned out to be cocaine, plus Tramadol, Amoxicillin and codeine tablets.

Each bag of cocaine was knotted and weighed approximately 0.3 to 0.5 grams.

The final post mortem report was issued which certified the cause of Nikolov’s death as cocaine toxicity; and coronary artery atheroma.

The inquiry noted it was possible that coronary artery atheroma may have played a contributory role.

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