Svilengrad

The Customs Office unit of Svilengrad, Southeastern Bulgaria, will shut down as of 00:00 EET on Monday, January 11.

Late in December the government announced the unit would become part of the respective offices of Plovdiv and Burgas.

The Bulgarian cabinet on Wednesday approved a decision to close down the Customs Agency unit of Svilengrad, days after tens of customs officers were detained on suspicions of corruption.

In a press statement, the government says the move is aimed at "preventing corruption practices and improving work by optimizing human, financial and material resources".

A move by the Bulgarian government to close down the customs office of Svilengrad, at the border with Turkey, has sparked outrage from officers and municipal councilors in the town.

A 12-km queue was formed on Monday morning at Kapitan Adreevo border crossing between Bulgaria and Turkey, after inspections of law enforcement agencies which led to the detention of 33 customs officers the day before.

Bulgarian authorities detained hundreds of illegal immigrants and several human smugglers in separate operations across the country.

A total of 115 illegal immigrants were detained in the border town of Svilengrad after they had entered the country from Greece by boats sailing on the Maritsa river.

Bulgarian authorities detained 495 illegally residing foreigners and sixteen human smugglers during a large-scale joint operation of the Interior Ministry and the State Agency for Security (DANS) carried across the country.

Following the operation, actions have been taken against 525 people accused of committing crimes against the political rights of citizens.

The Bulgarian government approved on Wednesday  the allocation of BGN 15.8 M to cover additional expenses of ministries and transfers to municipalities amounting.

The funds are allocated from the reserves of the government budget for overcoming the consequences of natural disasters and future prevention.

On June 7, an 8.6-km section of the right lane of the Maritsa motorway section connecting Svilengrad and Kapitan Andreevo will open for traffic.

The project was implemented with funding from the state budget under the New Construction program of Bulgaria's Road Infrastructure Agency.

25 members of the staff of the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing point have been dismissed.

Six customs officers, who were at work on Monday, received letters of dismissal in person, while the others are to be given their letters on Tuesday, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio.

Director of the State Customs Agency Vanio Tanov will not be substituted if income collection reaches at least BGN 1,6 B.

The statement wa smade by Bulgarian PM Boiko Borisov in Svilengrad during the opening of the water treatment plant, funded by the EU operational program Environment, as reported by the Bulgarian National Radio.