Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Probe could link Fife contract killing, death of hitman’s ‘fixer’ and Perthshire man’s murder

Deyan Nikolov was found dead in HMP Glenochil.
Deyan Nikolov was found dead in HMP Glenochil.

A major probe into the mysterious death of a notorious ‘fixer’ involved in the murder of a prominent Fife businessman over a decade ago is still ongoing, authorities have confirmed.

Deyan Nikolov, 33, a Bulgarian ex-bouncer from Kirkcaldy, was jailed for a minimum of 18 years back in 2012 after arranging for hitman Tencho Andonov to kill Toby Siddique at a house in Glenrothes in 2010.

However on June 11 2018 staff at HMP Glenochil found Nikolov motionless in his cell with a plastic bag over his head.

Deyan Nikolov.

Prison sources surmised that Nikolov had either been using the bag to enhance the effect of taking drugs, or had been the victim of a botched sex game, but inquiries are continuing more than two-and-a-half years after his passing.

Toby Siddique.

The Courier understands that Nikolov’s death is being looked at more closely after a Perthshire man with previous links to the Bulgarian was found dead in a burned-out stolen car in Blantyre last February.

Rafal Lyko, 36, who worked as a landscape gardener, had previously been jailed for four months in 2012 for smuggling a hi-tech spy phone into prison for Nikolov to use while he was on trial for murder.

Nikolov had the tiny smartphone – which looked like an ordinary digital watch –brought to him while he was remanded in maximum security Perth Prison, and detectives are examining possible links between the 2010 contract killing, Nikolov’s death and Mr Lyko’s murder.

Asked about the status of Nikolov case, a spokesperson for the Crown Office confirmed: “The investigation into the death of Mr Nikolov is ongoing.

“There will be a mandatory Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) in due course.”

Glenrothes murder

Nikolov was jailed for the part he played in the fatal shooting of businessman Mohammed Nadeem Siddique, 38, better known as ‘Toby’, at a flat in Glenrothes’ Tanshall area in October 2010.

He and two other men were found guilty of murder.

The victim’s brother, Mohammed Azam Siddique, 41, was jailed for a minimum of 25 years after hiring Andonov to execute his brother over their business rivalry.

Andonov, the man who pulled the trigger, was also convicted of attempting to murder former security man David Dalgleish, 44, who lived at the flat and had been left for dead.

Andonov and Mo Siddique, pictured.

The trio were eventually caught after Nikolov missed his getaway flight by forgetting his passport and were found guilty after a four-month trial – one of the longest in Scottish criminal history.

Numerous questions remain about the case, however, and the murder weapon used in the Siddique shooting has never been found.