Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Bulgarian police reports increased illegal migration pressure on Bulgaria

Photo: EPA/BGNES

Since the beginning of 2020, there has been a trend of increasing illegal migration pressure on Bulgaria, as well as the activation of domestic and cross-border criminal networks involved in the illegal transfer of illegal migrants through the so-called "Western Balkan route" to Western Europe. 

The data comes from the General Directorate of the National Police, which were announced today by its director, Chief Commissioner Ventsislav Kirchev, during a meeting of police chiefs of Southeast European countries in Zagreb, with the support of the French police, in the context of the French presidency of the Council of Europe. 

According to the information, mostly foreign nationals, from the starting points of the routes or at the end point of the canal, organize and coordinate the traffic on the route from the Middle East through the Balkans to the countries of Western Europe. The cost of a person's trip from Turkey to a selected destination varies from 3,000 to 7,000 euros. A part of the trafficking of narcotic substances through Bulgaria is carried out through migrants under the so-called "Balkan Route". 

Illegal migrants smuggle mainly heroin and, more recently, methamphetamine, thus paying for the "trafficking service". With regard to marijuana trafficking, the role of Bulgaria as a transit point is growing.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Museum visits by foreign tourists increase by 56.4%

The number of visits of foreign tourists to Bulgarian  museums in 2023 was 988,000, according to data from the National Statistical Institute. This is an increase of 56.4% compared to the previous year, said Deputy Minister of Tourism Pavlin Petrov...

published on 9/29/24 9:45 AM

Diplomats play football with a team of refugees in charity tournament

Representatives of the diplomatic missions in Sofia together with a team of refugees and youth and student organizations will participate in a charity football tournament on the grounds of the National Football Base "Boyana" in the..

published on 9/29/24 9:25 AM

Temperature drops with stormy wind and rain

On Sunday a cold atmospheric front will pass through the country. In the morning, the cloudiness will begin to increase rapidly from the west and rainfalls will start. Later in the day there will also be precipitation in the..

published on 9/28/24 6:05 PM