site.btaIllegal Migrants from Syria, Iraq, Iran Found in Sofia, Ten Members of Organized Crime Group Arrested

Illegal migrants from Syria, Iraq, and Iran have been found in Sofia. Ten members of an organized crime group have been arrested, Sofia's Deputy Prosecutor Desislava Petrova told reporters here on Tuesday. Two of the detainees have been identified as leaders of the group, she said. Petrova spoke at a news briefing on the results of a specialized Interior Ministry operation against illegal migration conducted on November 23. The operation was carried out jointly by the General Directorate for Combatting Organized Crime, Border Police, National Police, and the Sofia Directorate of Interior, under the guidance of the Sofia City Prosecution Office and under Europol's coordination.

During the operation, searches and seizures were conducted at locations in Sofia and Pernik, Petrova said, adding that witnesses were questioned. In two apartments in Sofia rented by Syrian nationals, police found 25 migrants from Syria, Iran, and Iraq, including women and children. Twenty-one of them had no documents, Commissioner Nikolay Spasov, head of a department at the Border Police General Directorate, said, noting that there were Bulgarian nationals among the arrested individuals.