The Bulgarian authorities have dismantled a migrant smuggling group operating at the periphery of the so-called Balkan route on October 4, with assistance from the EU’s Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, Europol.
According to Europol, for the past months, the Bulgarian General Directorate Combating Organised Crime has investigated whether any of the suspects correlate with the migrants being transported illegally across Europe, specifically from Türkiye to Western Europe.
The authorities eventually found out that the migrant smuggling cell helped transport irregular migrants from eastern Bulgarian cities of Burgas and Yambol, to Sofia and later to the Bulgarian border with Serbia by car.
This group charged migrants between €1,000 and €3,000 per person for their service.
The gathered operational information suggests that this logistical cell is part of a larger criminal network smuggling migrants from Türkiye to Western Europe through Bulgaria and Serbia.
The operation of October 4 resulted in the arrest of five Bulgarian nationals, seven house searches, and the seizure of various items, including car rental documents, contracts for the purchase and sale of cars, other documents related to criminal activities, electronic equipment, and a sum of ten thousand euros in cash.
The smugglers divided the journey of illegal transportation into two phases: initially to Sofia and later to the Serbian border. Upon reaching Sofia, they located the migrants in remote areas to avoid police attention. It is reported by Europol that the smugglers transported between ten and 30 migrants at a time.
Moreover, the Bulgarian authorities have reported that there has been a recent increase in migrant smuggling activities on the southern border of Bulgaria, leading to heightened efforts by Bulgarian authorities to combat these networks.
Additionally, there has been a rise in violence committed by members of these criminal networks against migrants and law enforcement officers.
Due to this situation, Europol has expanded its assistance to Bulgarian authorities by deploying an analyst and an expert to offer real-time analytical aid. The expert in Sophia will provide real-time analytical support and cross-check operational information against Europol’s databases.
The smuggling of migrants has also been concerning in other places in Europe, as SchengeVisaInfo.com reported that on September 1, Germany decided to deploy more police at Polish and Czech borders to combat the smuggling of migrants.
