The migrant pressure this year is at a record high, Chief Commissioner Anton Zlatanov, head of the Border Police General Directorate, told journalists in Sredets. Some 165,000 attempts to enter Bulgaria illegally have been prevented this year so far, he pointed out. For the same period last year, there were 120,000 cases, which shows a huge increase, commented Zlatanov.
"The pressure is huge. We cannot stop the migrant pressure 100%, we manage to reduce it as much as possible," he said and explained that migrants manage to enter the country because they learn in advance about the places where border control is not strengthened.
In Sredets, the Chief Commissioner awarded ten border officers who participated in the detention of six migrants on Thursday. Among those honored was a senior police officer who was shot during the operation.
The group of six illegal migrants were of Afghan origin. Pre-trial proceedings have been initiated. The migrants were transported to the Migration Directorate shelter in Lyubimets.
"Anyone who says that a fence and cameras can stop the flow of migrants or that the border is impenetrable is not being sincere, Zlatanov was adamant. "We are reducing the flow and it shows in the numbers. Some migrants manage to get inland, but colleagues provide information about the vehicle and the direction of travel and they are stopped in a safe place, on one of the highways or other roads, in the Sofia area or before the Serbian border. In places where we've increased the measures, the pressure is shifted, we direct our efforts accordingly and that is a permanent situation," explained Zlatanov.
Traffickers are mainly foreigners, the analysis shows. "For several months, we have taken serious measures against migrant traffickers, we have increased detention and the imposition of measures against them by about 30%, as a result of which they can no longer enter the country," he added.
/VE/
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