22 arrested in Sofia in operation against migrant trafficking network
In a specialised police operation in Sofia and Sofia Province, 22 Bulgarian and foreign nationals were arrested. Seven of them have been charged with participation in an organised criminal group.
Operation against migrant trafficking: 22 arrested in the capital
Twenty-two Bulgarian and foreign nationals have been arrested for up to 24 hours in a specialised police operation against an organised criminal group engaged in trafficking illegal migrants from Turkey, through Bulgaria, to EU countries, the press centre of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said, as cited by Novinite.com.
The operation was conducted in Sofia and Sofia Province with the aim of uncovering and apprehending members of the group. Seven of those arrested have been charged.
Searches at six addresses, four residential properties used as safe houses
Police conducted searches and seizures at six addresses linked to the criminal network, and witness statements were taken before a judge. Four residential properties in the capital were identified as places used to shelter and conceal illegal migrants — primarily citizens of Iran, Syria and Iraq.
The migrants were waiting there for the next stage of their journey to Romania and were being transported in lorries and light commercial vehicles registered abroad. Among the identified individuals were those who had been arrested multiple times in previous attempts to leave the country.
During the operation, mobile telephones, multiple Bulgarian and foreign SIM cards, residential lease agreements and foreign national registration cards were seized.
Chief Commissioner Zlatanov: Seven charges against the leader and accomplices
Chief Commissioner Anton Zlatanov, director of the Main Directorate of Border Police, stated: "The supervising prosecutor from Sofia City Prosecutor's Office has brought a total of seven charges against the leader and his accomplices. Five of them were arrested yesterday; the sixth was already in custody following a previous operation; and the seventh was charged and arrested because he was controlling part of the entire operation from abroad."
The operation involved officers from the Directorate for Combating Illegal Migration and the Investigation Department of the Main Directorate of Border Police, the Regional Directorates of Border Police at the airports and Dragomann, as well as the Criminal Police Department of the Main Directorate of National Police.
Materials submitted to Sofia City Prosecutor's Office
The evidence gathered during the pre-trial proceedings has been handed over to Sofia City Prosecutor's Office. Details of the operation were presented at a briefing by Chief Commissioner Anton Zlatanov and Commissioner Angel Papalezov, head of the Criminal Police Department of the Main Directorate of National Police.
Source: Novinite.com