Controversial Bulgarian radio host and mafia chronicler Bobi Tsankov, who was shot dead on a busy Sofia street at the beginning of the week, was Sunday.

The funeral was attended only by a small group of his relatives and closest friends.

The 30-year-old Tsankov was killed on 5 January when two unidentified gunmen opened fire on him and two other men at noontime on the busy Aleksander Stamboliiski Boulevard in Sofia. There had been previous attempts on his life.

Since September of last year, Tsankov had written a series of articles in the newspaper Weekend detailing the activities of alleged crime bosses. He had also published a book in December entitled “The Secrets of Gangsters” and, according to press reports, was planning a new book about drug trafficking.

Tsankov is a very controversial figure, against whom several lawsuits for embezzlement had been filed. According to local analysts Tsankov was not just a chronicler of the Bulgarian underworld but someone who enjoyed inhabiting it.

Ye the killing has been widely seen as a blow for Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, a center-right leader who has made his ability to fight organized crime a critical test of his government.

In 2008 there were more than 125 contract killings in Bulgaria, according to a list compiled by the United States Embassy there.

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