There has been a dramatic increase in the number of lawsuits involving human trafficking, the prosecutor’s office announced. In 2019 there were 670 new lawsuits, and in 2022 - 2,626.

2,208 people were convicted last year as against 720 in 2020, the spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office Siika Mileva stated. She added that crimes involving human trafficking are investigated by the Interior Ministry and called for more active efforts to counter the trafficking of migrants.  

The Ministry of the Interior is working actively to address the problem of illegal migration, said, on his part, Interior Minister in the caretaker government Ivan Demerdzhiev. He stated further that the delivery of drones is planned along the border with Turkey, to be used to combat illegal migration, but also to counter corruption. In his words, 110 kms. of the borderline are technically unsecured. At the end of 2022, the European Commission allocated EUR 141 million for the purpose, and this money is still unutilized, Minister Demerdzhiev said.