Police arrests migrants and smugglers across BulgariaSofia, 13 May 2016 (MIA) - Seventy-five people were arrested in a police operation against illegal immigration, conducted in Sofia and many other areas in Bulgaria, the Interior Ministry reported on Friday.
Thirty-four persons were found to have been involved in the smuggling of illegal immigrants. The detainees were taken into 24-hour custody, BTA reports.
The operation was ordered by the Interior Ministry's Chief Secretary Georgi Kostov. The police acted jointly with the State Agency for National Security and the prosecuting magistracy. They checked 1,010 places, 10,810 persons and 4,976 vehicles. Ten foreigners were taken into temporary immigrant shelters and another 17 were accommodated in facilities of the State Agency for Refugees.
Border police in Dragoman, near the border with Serbia, arrested 15 illegal immigrants and their Bulgarian guide after a chase.
Interior Minister Roumyana Buchvarova told journalists that the operation involved 1,400 policemen and some 500 vehicles. The police have been checking hotels, hostels and other accommodation, vehicles, shops and cafes.
"Such operations are part of our effort to curb illegal migration," she said.
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