site.btaUPDATED Police Find 52 Illegal Migrants during Car Checks in NW Bulgaria

A total of 52 migrants were found in trucks during police checks near Vratsa (Northwestern Bulgaria) on Thursday evening, the Regional Directorate of the Interior Ministry reported. Thirty foreign nationals were found in a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter driven by a 54-year-old man from Plovdiv (South Central Bulgaria) after a check on the Vratsa Ring Road. Nine of them had asylum-seeker documents, the rest had no IDs.

The other check was carried out near the village of Ruska Bela, Mezdra Municipality. Twenty-two foreigners were found in a truck driven by a 33-year-old from the village of Archar, Vidin Municipality. Only four of them had asylum-seeker documents. The rest did not present any documents at all. 

The migrants are from Syria and Iraq. Some are underage.

Pre-trial proceedings have been initiated for a crime under the Penal Code.