News

Big number of illegal border crossing attempts in Bulgaria in 2006

A relatively big number of attempts for illegal crossing of Bulgaria's borders, 1040, were registered in 2006, National Border Police head Krasimir Petrov said.

Border police identified 168 members of human trafficking rings, Focus news agency said. Out of the total 83 are Turkish citizen and 65 are Bulgarians.

Prosecution launched investigation in 151 of the human trafficking cases and 28 trafficking group members were sentenced.

Border authorities detained 3340 people wanted by police. The figure is 19 per cent higher than the numbers for 2005.

A total of 6000 people were denied entry into Bulgaria. Lack of visas and passports were among the main reasons for the denials, Focus said.

Interior Minister Roumen Petkov said that it was very important to develop a centre for border co-operation in the Black Sea region, located in the coastal city of Bourgas. The project should be executed by the end of the German EU presidency, he said.

EU needed to guarantee the security of Bulgaria and Romania's Black Sea coast, which is its eastern exterior border, Petkov said.

February 7 2007, Source: www.sofiaecho.com