Europol: Large migrant smuggling operation in Bulgaria leads to 16 arrests

A Bulgarian-led investigation, carried out in close cooperation with the Hellenic Police and supported by Europol, has led to the dismantlement of an organised criminal network involved in smuggling of migrants from Türkiye via Bulgaria and onward through Serbia or Romania towards Western European countries, European police cooperation agency Europol said on January 29.

The investigation was conducted within the framework of a regional Operational Taskforce established to target migrant smuggling networks using Bulgaria as a transit country, Europol said.

The action day led to 16 arrests; six 6 locations searches; and seizures of mobile devices, administrative documents, vehicle registration documents, accountancy notebooks and other records, the agency said.

Europol said that the migrant smuggling network operated with a pyramid-style structure, with members playing different roles.

The core group, based in Sofia, consisted primarily of Bulgarian and Syrian nationals who acted “in a highly coordinated manner”, Europol said.

Their main role was to arrange transit across Bulgaria, while maintaining close cooperation with other criminal networks based in neighbouring countries.

For example, the payment for the smuggling services was already arranged prior to departure.

Migrants were required to place a deposit through hawala offices in Türkiye, from where the migrants departed.

After recruiting migrants in Türkiye, members of the criminal network smuggled them across the Southern Bulgarian green border, guiding them to predefined locations.

From there, drivers transported them to Sofia using a variety of vehicles, including cars and buses.

Migrants were temporarily accommodated in safe houses in and around Sofia before being moved towards the Bulgarian–Serbian or Bulgarian–Romanian borders.

In some cases, migrants were transported directly to the border areas without interim accommodation.