Demirköy District Police Department teams have started an operation after receiving information that irregular migrants were being brought to Bulgaria through illegal ways. The investigation revealed that the organizers were planning to transport the migrants to the border using a cargo minibus. The organizers were put under physical surveillance, and it was observed that they dropped off the illegal migrants near the Bulgarian border in a wooded area. A raid was carried out, resulting in the capture of 21 illegal migrants and some organizers. All these operations were recorded via phone.
The police teams, broadening the investigation into migrant smuggling, captured a total of 19 suspects who were identified as organizers and took them into custody. It was learned that one of the suspects fled from the police’s ‘stop’ warning and caused damage by hitting the team’s vehicle. The migrants stated in their testimonies that they had paid 5,000 Turkish lira per person to the organizers to be transported to the Bulgarian border.
Following the procedures at the police station, with the support of gendarmerie teams, the organizers were transferred to the courthouse. 17 of the organizers were arrested on charges of ‘Migrant smuggling’, while two individuals were released. The migrants were handed over to the Pehlivanköy Repatriation Center after the necessary procedures.
