Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Bulgarian police reports increased illegal migration pressure on Bulgaria

Photo: EPA/BGNES

Since the beginning of 2020, there has been a trend of increasing illegal migration pressure on Bulgaria, as well as the activation of domestic and cross-border criminal networks involved in the illegal transfer of illegal migrants through the so-called "Western Balkan route" to Western Europe. 

The data comes from the General Directorate of the National Police, which were announced today by its director, Chief Commissioner Ventsislav Kirchev, during a meeting of police chiefs of Southeast European countries in Zagreb, with the support of the French police, in the context of the French presidency of the Council of Europe. 

According to the information, mostly foreign nationals, from the starting points of the routes or at the end point of the canal, organize and coordinate the traffic on the route from the Middle East through the Balkans to the countries of Western Europe. The cost of a person's trip from Turkey to a selected destination varies from 3,000 to 7,000 euros. A part of the trafficking of narcotic substances through Bulgaria is carried out through migrants under the so-called "Balkan Route". 

Illegal migrants smuggle mainly heroin and, more recently, methamphetamine, thus paying for the "trafficking service". With regard to marijuana trafficking, the role of Bulgaria as a transit point is growing.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

International conference on Bulgarians in the Northern Black Sea Region brings together scientists from Bulgaria, Ukraine and Moldova

The international scientific conference “Bulgarians in the Northern Black Sea Region” will be held in Sofia on October 27 and 28, 2025 in the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore with Ethnographic Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Prof...

published on 10/25/25 5:00 AM

Kozloduy NPP Unit 6 shuts down for annual maintenance

The annual planned maintenance of Kozloduy NPP Unit 6 starts today and is expected to last until early December, the nuclear power plant has announced. During the shutdown, technical maintenance of the systems and facilities will be carried out,..

published on 10/24/25 7:45 PM

Rain by the evening, temperatures remain warm for the season

Saturday will start off with lows between 6°C and 11°C, dropping to around 6°C in Sofia. Skies will brighten for a time over northern Bulgaria before turning cloudy again later, with rain moving in by evening and overnight. Cloudy spells are also..

published on 10/24/25 7:05 PM