site.btaProsecution Reports Increase in Detained Illegal Migrants and Human Trafficking Investigations

The number of detained third-country nationals staying illegally in Bulgaria, as well as pre-trial proceedings related to migrant trafficking, increased in April 2026 month-on-month, according to data from the specialized interdepartmental unit of the prosecution service and the Interior Ministry covering the period April 1-30. The prosecution service's press centre released the information on Thursday.

A total of 44 people were detained in April, compared with 14 in March, while the number of pre-trial proceedings launched under Articles 270, 280 and 281 of the Penal Code rose to 56 from 33 a month earlier.

The prosecution highlighted several notable cases, including a specialized police operation conducted on April 14-15 near the village of Yana, close to Sofia. Fourteen people were detained while being loaded into a vehicle with Turkish registration plates, while another four migrants were later found elsewhere in the capital. Four Syrian and two Turkish nationals were charged with participating in an organized criminal group involved in migrant trafficking.

In another case on April 18, two officers from the Border Police Unit in Elhovo, Southeastern Bulgaria, were detained while transporting 11 undocumented migrants in a service vehicle. The migrants identified themselves as Iraqi nationals.

The prosecution also reported intensified activity against drug-related crimes. In April, 905 people were detained for offences linked to the production, possession, trafficking and distribution of narcotics. Authorities launched 783 pre-trial proceedings and uncovered 31 laboratories and cultivation sites for narcotic substances.

Among the highlighted operations was the detention of two individuals in Sofia at the end of April after police found 30 kg of marijuana in a vehicle. Searches at an address linked to one of the suspects uncovered another 4.5 kg of marijuana and 32 kg of green powdered substance testing positive for tetrahydrocannabinol. Investigators later identified a Bulgarian national living in Kyustendil, Southwestern Bulgaria, as the supplier. He was detained and searches of his property uncovered EUR 605,000 in cash and a large quantity of ammunition.

Authorities also discovered more than 20 technologically equipped cannabis cultivation rooms inside an abandoned lead-zinc mine near the village of Garlyano in Kyustendil Region. The facilities were fitted with specialized lighting, ventilation, dehumidifiers and climate control systems.

According to the prosecution service, 402 court rulings related to drug crimes under Articles 354a and 354v of the Penal Code entered into force in April 2026. Another 103 effective court rulings concerned migrant smuggling and the illegal assistance of foreign nationals entering, staying in or transiting through Bulgaria under Articles 279, 280 and 281 of the Penal Code.