Bulgarian police detain 35 Afghan nationals in passenger vehicle
Bulgaria’s state news agency BTA reported that the country’s border police detained 35 undocumented migrants in the Malko Tarnovo area from a passenger vehicle. Police said all of those detained are Afghan nationals.
Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry said the incident took place on August 18. According to officials, the 22-year-old driver of the vehicle, a resident of North Macedonia, was also detained by police.
According to the report, Bulgarian police operations against illegal migration have expanded in recent months. Officials said the process of identifying and detaining undocumented migrants in border areas is continuing.
In early August, 20 undocumented migrants and the driver of their vehicle were also detained in the Ropotamo River area, near the city of Burgas. Before that, in mid-June, 32 migrants and one of their guides were detained in the Poda area near Burgas.
Bulgarian border police said that under new regulations, undocumented migrants at the country’s external borders are held in special centres for up to seven days and then transferred to migrant detention facilities. Malko Tarnovo and Burgas are among areas near Bulgaria’s eastern borders that have been repeatedly mentioned in reports related to migrant crossings.
