Three men have been charged and placed in continuing pre-trial detention in an investigation into migrant smuggling through Bulgaria. Details released on 3 November concern an operation carried out on 29 October in Sofia and Pernik region, during which 15 Bulgarian and foreign citizens were detained. The charges do not constitute a finding of guilt.
The alleged route ran from Bulgaria’s border with Turkey towards its border with Serbia. Investigators describe a group arranging transport across the country. The case is supervised by Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office and involves Border Police, National Police and the State Agency for National Security.
The three accused are two Afghan nationals, aged 33 and 23, who reside permanently in Bulgaria, and a 40-year-old man from Sofia. The different numbers refer to different stages of the case: 15 people were detained during the operation, while three are identified as accused and subject to continuing detention.
Searches covered ten addresses and five vehicles. Authorities reported seizing firearms, drugs, phones, cash, notebooks, radios, SIM cards and a blue signalling light. These are items secured as evidence in an ongoing investigation; their discovery does not by itself establish each person’s role or resolve the charges.
The case highlights the organisational side of smuggling routes, including vehicles, communication and coordination between borders. The immediate legal questions concern the evidence linking the accused to the alleged activity and the further course of the proceedings. Investigators say work continues, so the current account should be read as a prosecution-stage development, not a completed trial.
