2024-02-12 13:31:41
A total of 4,538,629 people crossed the checkpoints on the Bulgarian-Greek border in 2023. This was reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in response to a journalist’s inquiry. Last year, 27 foreigners were detained when crossing a “green” border and 22 people were detained for illegally crossing border crossings.
The migration pressure on the Bulgarian-Greek border is very low and the border is not preferred for migrants to cross, the Ministry of the Interior specifies.
The detainees, who entered Bulgarian territory by land, are citizens of Afghanistan, Syria, Morocco. Eight Nepalis have been caught while trying to transfer to our southern neighbor. Four third-country nationals were returned to Greece. 22 citizens of Morocco, Syria, Palestine, Bangladesh and Turkey were arrested for illegally crossing the border points.
Last year, 49 pre-trial proceedings were instituted for violation of the Bulgarian-Greek border, with charges brought against 46 persons. Compared to the previous year, pre-trial proceedings are 41% less.
In 2023, 65 cases of 90 persons illegally transporting excise goods were detected at the border crossing point along the Bulgarian-Greek border. In 54 of the cases, it concerns the transfer of 3.8 million short cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos. Most cases of illegal traffic of excise goods were detected through the Makaza checkpoint.
The flow of people who passed through the checkpoints on the Bulgarian-Greek border increased by 9% compared to the traffic in 2022. The traffic through the “Kulata” checkpoint and the “Makaza” checkpoint is the most intense, the Ministry of the Interior specifies.
The cross-border flow is mainly from Bulgarians and citizens of Germany, Greece, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine. The incoming traffic is twice as much as that traveling through the border points in the direction of Greece. For the “Makaza” checkpoint, the number of people entering Bulgarian territory is four times greater than those passing south.