Five detained for participating in organized crime group to help illegal migrants in the country

The five men were detained in the Bulgarian capital. It was established that they were members of an organized criminal group that assisted the movement and residence of migrants who entered the country illegally. In the course of the investigation, it was clarified that for the period from February 2021 to their detention on November 17, they transported foreign nationals and accommodated them in pre-arranged accommodation in Sofia. 

The migrants were transported in small groups by taxi drivers participating in the group. The activities of the criminal group were coordinated by a Syrian with Bulgarian citizenship. During the operative-investigative actions taken by the investigators, a tablet, telephones and SIM cards used for the criminal activity were found and confiscated. A large number of witnesses were questioned.

By orders of the supervising prosecutor, three of the accused were detained for up to 72 hours. Today, a request was submitted to the Specialized Criminal Court to determine a measure of restraint “detention in custody” for each of them.