site.btaBulgaria Steps Up Checks of Vehicles, Tightens Border Security amid Increasing Migrati

Bulgaria Steps Up Checks of Vehicles, Tightens Border Security amid Increasing Migration Pressure

Bourgas, on the Black Sea, August 13 (BTA) - Bulgaria is stepping up checks of vehicles in the Black Sea region of Bourgas and tightening border security as it is experiencing increasing migration pressure in August. The measures were announced at a special news briefing by Interior Ministry Chief Secretary Georgi Kostov. He arrived in Bourgas together with the heads of the Border Police Chief Directorate and the National Police Chief Directorate, Antonio Angelov and Hristo Terziyski.

The checks will focus on vans, which could be used to transport migrants. Control checkpoint will be placed at the main road thoroughfares. Border security has been increased.

In August compared to July, the attempts at illegal crossing from Turkey into Bulgaria have doubled in number. On Friday alone, a total of 11 groups of men and women were detained for such attempts in the area of Malko Turnovo, Gramatikovo and Rezovo. A total of 1,858 attempts have been registered since the start of August, and over 30,000 since the start of 2016.

From January 1 to present, 1,350 foreigners have been accommodated at closed facilities where they spend two weeks.

Two hundred persons from Frontex will arrive in Bulgaria by next week's end to increase the security at the border. Angelov said at the news briefing that these are very well prepared people who have the appropriate equipment and will be of big use in August in September, when the migration pressure is the highest.

As of Saturday, 150 gendarmerie officers are stationed at the border to assist the Border Police units.

Earlier in the day, the Interior Ministry reported that in the last 24 hours, officers of the Border Police Regional Directorate in Dragoman detained 87 foreigners trying to cross the Bulgarian-Serbian border illegally.

At 8 pm on Friday, a border police team found in the area of Bankya village 54 persons without IDs claiming to be from Afghanistan (40), Pakistan (11), Iraq (2) and India (1). A check revealed that 41 of them are registered at the State Agency for Refugees.

Preliminary protocols were issued for the 41 foreigners, who were taken away from the border area. The remaining 13 persons were detained and sent to the Migration Directorate's specialized facility for temporary accommodation of foreigners in Lyubimets.

In two separate developments, border police detained 16 foreigners without IDs claiming to be Iraqi nationals in the area of Salash village, and 17 persons from Afghanistan near the border with Serbia.