By order of the Minister of Interior of April 20, 2022, an Emergency Action Plan was introduced due to increased migratory pressure on the border of the Republic of Bulgaria with the Republic of Turkey, the Ministry of Interior announced.

To counter illegal migration in the area of ​​Elhovo, officers from other structures of the General Directorate of Border Police, the regional directorates of the Ministry of Interior, the General Directorate of Gendarmerie, Special Operations and Combating Terrorism and the Ministry of Defense have been seconded.

A control mechanism has been set up, and every week senior executives inspect the implementation of the tasks in the plan on the spot.

After the introduction in the border surveillance of the additional officers from the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defense, a greater density of the mixed patrols along the state border was achieved.

Following the activation of the action plan as a result of the increased migratory pressure and the adoption of a set of measures, a significant reduction in the number of detainees has been reported.

Bulgarian border authorities detained 533 third-country nationals at the entrance.

Mostly citizens of Syria and Afghanistan.

Since the beginning of 2022, nearly 34,000 attempts to enter Bulgaria illegally have been prevented, which is 4 times more than in the same period last year, the Ministry of Interior said.

More than 90% of those detained for trying to enter illegal migrants in 2021 are men

The migratory pressure on the Bulgarian-Turkish border represents 98% of the total migratory pressure on the borders of our country.

A total of 33,860 border police officers prevented 33,860 attempts by illegal migrants to enter Bulgaria.

33,200 have returned to the interior of the Republic of Turkey after establishing the presence of Bulgarian patrols and posts along the border.

The others have returned to the interior of Greece.

The temporary obstruction facility built at the end of 2017 along the entire length of the Bulgarian-Turkish border, with a total length of over 235 km, also has a deterrent effect on the attempts made to illegally enter the country.

The Integrated Surveillance System is actively used, which includes perimeter alarm and security systems, stationary posts and mobile systems for technical surveillance.

The Specialized Air Surveillance Detachment at the General Directorate for Air Traffic Control also participates in the control of migration flows.

Members of the permanent corps of the Frontex agency are also deployed on the Bulgarian-Turkish border.

As a result of the measures taken and as a result of the additional forces and resources concentrated at the border, the capacity of the specialized homes for temporary accommodation of foreigners at the Migration Directorate is currently filled below 40%.

From the beginning of the year to May 19, 2022, 85 pre-trial proceedings were instituted for smuggling, and 76 persons were prosecuted as defendants.

The analysis of the data shows an 84% increase in the number of filed application materials and the initiated pre-trial proceedings compared to the same period last year.

Ministry of Interior

captured migrants