Bulgarian Security Services: Up to 10,000 Euros per Person are the Migrant Trafficking Rates

Migrants paid up to 10,000 euros to be trafficked from Turkey to Serbia through the territory of Bulgaria. This was stated at a joint briefing by the Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of the Interior, the State Police and the Security Services.

"The operation was directed against the organizers of illegal migration from the Bulgarian side," said the spokesperson of the chief prosecutor Siika Mileva.

She also explained the scheme by which the migrants are transferred. Turkey, Bulgaria and Serbia each have one main organizer. Each of them builds a system under himself. One provides drivers who transport the migrants from point A to point B. Another is responsible for providing accommodation. After staying a certain period in the country, they are taken to a point on the Serbian-Bulgarian side, where they are taken over by the Serbian organizers. Payment is made when the main organizer on the Turkish side confirms that the migrants have crossed into Serbia. The tariff for the trafficking of 1 migrant is around 2000 - 3000 euros.

In the case of the trafficking of a smaller number of migrants, the so-called VIP service, amounts up to 10,000 euros per person.

Increasingly often, traffickers are escorted by pilot cars driven by women to avoid arousing suspicion.

The Deputy Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Stanimir Stanev, stated that the state received support from Turkey for the general fight against trafficers.

In the course of the operation, more than 30 addresses were checked, said Atanas Ilkov, director of the State Police. All the liaison officers with whom the actions were discussed have been engaged, Ilkov said. Our activity will not stop only with this operation, we continue even more...