site.btaInterior Minister Calls for Urgent Legislative Measures against Illegal Migrant Trafficking

Interior Minister Calls for Urgent Legislative Measures against  Illegal Migrant Trafficking

Sofia, September 5 (BTA) - Interior Minister Roumyana Buchvarova said on Saturday she would call for urgent legislative measures introducing the harshest possible sanctions on human traffickers, commensurate to the gravity of the offence of migrant trafficking. This would make it considerably less attractive for organized groups, said Buchvarova, who was on a working visit to the border police department and the checkpoint at the southeastern town of Malko Turnovo near the border with Turkey.

Buchvarova stressed that along with good border management and national security protection, the fight against illegal migrant trafficking is a high priority of the Interior Ministry. This includes fast, strict registration of migrants and asylum seekers before they are ensnared by traffickers who put at risk human lives, especially the lives of women and children.

The Interior Minister was briefed on the results of the ongoing specialized operations conducted by border officers, and checked the construction of a protective obstacle.

She stressed that Bulgaria maintains a high level of readiness to react to a potential increase in migration pressure and to provide the necessary conditions and care to asylum seekers.