Police intercept 76 migrants on Trakia motorway

Police detained a group of 76 migrants on Trakia motorway in the southern region of Stara Zagora shortly before sunup on Friday, the head of the Interior Ministry Regional Directorate, Chief Commissioner Lazar Hristov, said.

The migrants were found in the storage compartment of a truck with Bulgarian plates, driven by a Bulgarian citizen. The truck was stopped for inspection by the officers following a routine tracking alert, Chief Commissioner Hristov said.

The migrants identified themselves as Afghans. Seven of them were taken to various hospitals in Stara Zagora due to dehydration and exhaustion, but their lives are not endangered. The rest were transported to the police department in Chirpan. The group is to be accommodated at the Refugee Centre in Harmanli. 

The driver of the truck, with no criminal record, was arrested and pretrial proceedings have been launched by Stara Zagora Regional Prosecution Office. 

The operation is part of the action to prevent illegal migration ordered by Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov.