20 Arrested in Joint Police-Prosecutor’s Office Operation across Bulgaria

Two successful joint operations of the specialized prosecutor’s office and the Ministry of Interior against drug distribution and human trafficking were carried out in several cities in Bulgaria on 17^th of October.

20 people have been detained in a period of 24 hours, but charges will be pressed only against some of them based on judgment of the prosecutor's office.

4 Syrians and 4 Bulgarians were arrested in Pernik, Vidin and Sofia for alleged trafficking in migrants. The group had been monitored for more than a year, and according to the prosecutor's office, it is one of the most serious, identified so far.

Ivan Geshev, the Head of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office says that the group's activity can be described as "full service from border to border".

Investigators did not engage in statistics on the number of illegal migrants that crossed the country with the help of this criminal network. Some of the detained will be accused of beating former members of the crime group who wanted to quit.

During the operation in Bourgas, 12 people were detained on suspcicions for involment in a criminal group for selling marijuana. A gun, clubs, marijuana, methamphetamines, as well as modern equipment for greenhouses were seized. The group is not made up of people known to the police according to the Directorate for Combatting Organised Crime. It was formed in the past year. It is expected that 5 of the detainees will be charged and the others will be summoned as witnesses.

The investigation is on-going.