On 19.08.2024, the Bulgarian law enforcement authorities implemented 15 search warrants at locations in the region of Plovdiv - Bulgaria, in a file regarding the commission of the crime of forming an organized criminal group involved in the illegal introduction of migrants in Europe, an action in which representatives from Romania, the Republic of Moldova and Europol also participated.
The organized criminal group consisted of citizens of different nationalities, the main leaders being Syrians and Jordanians, whose aim was to coordinate the crime of trafficking migrants to destinations in Europe via the Western Balkans route, in order to obtain significant sums of money.
Using the services of carriers provided by the group, the migrants crossed the border between Turkey and Bulgaria on foot, after crossing, they were to be met by drivers, citizens of the Republic of Moldova, who transported them to the Romanian-Serbian or Romanian-Bulgarian border. The drivers were sent during the night to pick up the migrants from the agreed locations and received for this service 700-1,000 euros for transport or 100 euros for each migrant.
As a result of the searches, eight people (including the leaders of the criminal group) were detained and numerous documents proving criminal activity, tracking devices, cars, weapons and ammunition, cocaine, bank cards, telephones, laptops and various types of identity documents were seized.
The joint operation with the Bulgarian police was attended by officers of the Romanian Border Police - Directorate for the Prevention and Combating of Illegal Migration and Cross-Border Criminality of the IGPF and EUROPOL employees posted in Bulgaria. At the same time, police officers from the Directorates for Combating Organized Crime from the Republic of Romania and the Republic of Moldova were present at the destruction of this organized criminal group.
