Border police detained 19 people on 27 October in a raid on a migrant smuggling network, the Border Police Chief Directorate said. Four have been charged: three Syrians and a Bulgarian.
The four have been placed in custody for up to 72 hours. Another Syrian, who investigators say is one of the organisers, has been charged in his absence because he is hiding outside Bulgaria.
Border police say the network has operated since March 2026. Migrants were brought into Bulgaria in purpose-built hiding places in lorries. They were housed in flats in Sofia, then driven to Western European countries hidden in cars and lorries.
Border police are leading the investigation, and the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office is overseeing it. Officers searched five addresses and two vehicles. After questioning witnesses, they passed the case materials to the supervising prosecutor at the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office.
On 16 October, near Thessaloniki in northern Greece, police detained a 61-year-old Bulgarian who had illegal migrants in his car. He first tried to flee in the car, then on foot, but was caught. Three Iranian citizens were in the car.