site.btaInterior Minister Mitov Visits Border Police's Center for Detection of Fake Documents

Interior Minister Daniel Mitov visited the Border Police General Directorate's (BPGD) Center for the Detection of Fake Documents, the Interior Ministry reported here on Tuesday. 

The study and application of good European practices in this area led to the centralization of processes for collecting, processing, analyzing, and disseminating information related to cases of using fake and forged documents, the press release further stated.

Experts from the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the field of detecting fake and forged documents are among the leading specialists in Europe. Their training program is used by all major international law enforcement agencies – FRONTEX, EUROPOL, INTERPOL, and others.

Last month, experts from the national gendarmerie force of the Netherlands paid a working visit to Sofia for a series of training sessions aimed at building capacity with their Bulgarian colleagues from the Border Police General Directorate of Bulgaria's Interior Ministry in the field of fake document identification.

Mitov congratulated the participants in the training. Representatives from the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee are training the most skilled border police officers on how to detect fake and forged personal documents, he said. “Afterward, our officers will become trainers themselves and pass on their experience to all regional Border Police directorates,” Mitov added.Making the fight against document-related crimes and identity fraud one of the main priorities of the Border Police General Directorate led to the implementation of a comprehensive set of measures for the technical modernization of forensic-criminal activities. Since the establishment of the Center, significant efforts have been made to implement a number of projects for the delivery and upgrading of specialized technical equipment. The new technological solutions allow for precise and in-depth examination of the security elements and printing techniques integrated into the constantly updated travel and identity documents.

Later, the Director of the Border Police General Directorate, Chief Commissioner Anton Zlatanov, presented to the Minister the National Coordination Center, where round-the-clock communication with all border structures is maintained.