site.btaProsecution, Interior Ministry Conduct Specialized Operation Against Border Trespassers

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Prosecution, Interior Ministry
Conduct Specialized Operation
Against Border Trespassers


Sofia, October 24 (BTA) - A specialized operation started Friday
on the territory of the whole country at the order of
Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov and Interior Minister Yordan
Bakalov, the Interior Ministry said in a press release.

Involved in the operation are the district prosecution offices,
the Interior Ministry's regional directorates, Sofia
Directorate and Migration Directorate, and specialized police
forces. To be checked by 8 pm on Friday are sites with
concentration of individuals who are suspected of residing
illegally on Bulgarian territory: hostels, hotels and
accommodation centres. There is a specific organization for the
cases when the detained individuals are foreign nationals so
that cooperation can be sought from the State Agency for
Refugees.

Later on Friday, Minister Bakalov told a news conference that
thus far 118 illegal immigrants have been detained and 1,554
sites and 4,141 persons have been checked during the joint
specialized operation. Some of the detainees are on the national
wanted list. The highest number of people have been detained in
Sofia: 107 out of the 118 detainees.

Bakalov said that the immigrants' intermediate destination in
Bulgaria is Sofia, from where they can leave for Western Europe.
He added that 472 persons involved in human trafficking have
been detained since the start of 2014.

Interior Ministry Chief Secretary Svetlozar Lazarov said that
from January 1 to September 30 this year, 3,855 immigrants were
arrested in Bulgaria and 4,431 were detained in Turkey after
alerts from the Bulgarian services. A total of 15,126 immigrants
who were trying to illegally cross the border were not allowed
to enter Bulgaria.

A total of 531 persons have been checked in Sofia as part of the
specialized operation thus far, and one out of five of them did
not have personal identification documents, Lazarov said. More
operations of this type will be conducted from now on, he added.


PK, LI/DS