site.btaBulgaria Arrests Seven for Trafficking Migrants from Turkiye and Greece via Bulgaria and Romania

Bulgaria has arrested seven men after an investigation against a human trafficking ring, Pleven, northern Bulgaria, deputy district prosecutor Diyana Ilieva said here Thursday.

The criminal group is believed to have operated since January 2015 in the territory of Bulgaria, Greece and Romania.

In operations held jointly with the Directorate General for Combatting Organized Crime, the Gerndarmerie and police in Pleven, the law-enforcers searched properties and vehicles and seized cash, documents related to the criminal activity, cell phones, a laptop, legal weapons and a vehicle.

 The Bulgarian group was part of an international transborder ring for trafficking migrants from Turkiye and Greece via Bulgaria and Romania to Western Europe.

The seven detainees are all men aged 25 to 61. Two have been charged with leading the crime group, which carried a prison sentence of five to 15 years upon conviction. The other five have been charged as ring members and face three to ten years in prison upon conviction.