Specialised police operation launched at border crossings

A specialised police operation has been launched at border crossings in the country. The actions are carried out by officers from the General Directorate “Border Police”, the Chief Directorate for Combatting Organised Crime, the Customs Agency and the National Revenue Agency.

Control is being exercised over the organisation of work established for a normal crossing regime - through the allocation of forces and resources; the rotation of staff working in areas at risk of corruption or carrying out activities at risk of corruption. The task is to prevent the passage of undeclared goods without payment of due customs fees and taxes, the Ministry of Interior said.

The joint teams also control the procedures for checks of people and vehicles passing through border crossings.

As part of the prevention of corrupt practices and abuse of office, the inspectors conduct secondary discussions with the passengers passing through customs and border checkpoints to identify any problems and incidents that may have occurred during their passage through the country.

The operation is being carried out on the orders of the Minister of the Interior, Kalin Stoyanov, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance.

The stated objective is to intensify the fight against smuggling and other crimes across the state border.