site.btaBorder Policemen Arrested in Operation against Illegal Migration

Border Policemen Arrested in Operation against Illegal Migration

Sofia, May 26 (BTA) - Two border policemen were arrested in an operation against a migrant trafficking ring on Thursday, Interior Minister Valentin Radev said in Parliament Friday. He declined to give details while the Interior Ministry and the State Agency for National Security were making searches in the capital.

Both border police officers worked at Sofia Airport and two persons were to be smuggled. An unspecified large amount of money was seized.

Radev said the operation was launched on a tip-off, adding: "Those involved have long been under surveillance. Hopefully, they will all be arrested or if they are abroad, they will be extradited, to be brought to justice."

Later in the day, Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov said six persons had been arrested during the operation at Sofia Airport. Two of them are border policemen, two are the suspected ringleaders, foreigners who have long been resident in Bulgaria, and two were hoping to be smuggled out of the country. The traffickers charged around 5,000 euro per person, said Tsatsarov.