Bulgarian cell number retired after three owners die between 2001-2005

Cell phone execs in Bulgaria have reportedly restricted the number 0888 888 888 after three people it was assigned to between 2001 and 2005 died “horrific deaths.”

The number is said to have been initially owned by Vladimir Grashnov, the late CEO of provider Mobitel. Grashnov died of cancer in 2001 at the age of 48, and rumors persisted that the cancer was caused by deliberate poisoning with radioactive material- perhaps by a business rival. The number then passed to Bulgarian mafia boss Konstantin Dimitrov. Dimitrov was gunned down while dining with a model in the Netherlands in 2003, reportedly by rival Russian mafia thugs.

Konstantin Dishliev was the next unfortunate recipient of the number, and is described as a “crooked businessman.” Dishliev was reportedly running a “massive cocaine trafficking operation” when he was shot to death outside an Indian restaurant in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia in 2005. After Dishliev died, the number was said to be suspended while an investigation into his death took place. Now, calls routed to it reportedly yield a message saying the number is “outside network coverage.”

Mobitel officials won’t confirm the official retirement of the doomed cell number to press:

A Mobitel spokesman would only say: “We have no comment to make. We won’t discuss individual numbers.”