Enlarge image
Truck in which people were smuggled: hidden under a load of wood
Photo: HANDOUT BULGARIAN PROSECUTORS OF / AFP
In Bulgaria, police have broken up a ring of suspected smugglers believed to be responsible for the deaths of 18 migrants in a truck.
Seven suspects have been arrested, a government official said, including the boss of the gang.
Local residents discovered the truck on Friday in a village not far from the capital Sofia and alerted the police.
The police found 18 apparently suffocated people from Afghanistan - among them a child.
According to the police, the migrants were hidden under a load of wood in the truck.
34 survivors were treated in a hospital.
The head of the Bulgarian National Investigation Service, Borislav Sarafov, spoke of an "organized criminal group".
They accept migrants at the EU's external border with Turkey and then bring them by truck to the border area in Serbia.
The alleged leader of the group has already been convicted of people smuggling.
Sarafov said the 18 victims died from a combination of lack of oxygen in an enclosed space and breathing difficulties as they were crammed into the truck "like a tin can."
He added: "The victims died slowly and in pain."
According to hospital information, several of the survivors suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning because they had inhaled exhaust gases in the poorly insulated truck.
The people got little oxygen and were severely dehydrated, an emergency doctor told Nova TV.
In addition, they had not eaten for days.
Up to 7000 euros per person
The EU member country Bulgaria borders Turkey in the south.
Recently, the number of people who wanted to enter the EU there has increased.
Some cross the border irregularly to avoid being registered at a post.
Bulgaria has therefore stepped up controls along the 234-kilometer barbed wire fence that covers almost the entire border with Turkey.
Still, the head of the Sarafov investigative agency said the border "can be crossed very easily using a simple ladder."
You might have to think about reinforcements.
"The final destination of the migrants is mainly Britain, Germany and France," he said.
They paid 6,000 to 7,000 euros per person for their journey.
The Bulgarian smugglers received part of the money - the drivers 100 euros for one transported person and the leader of the group up to 1000 euros per person.
Because of irregular migration, in December 2022 Austria and the Netherlands blocked Bulgaria's entry into the border-free Schengen area.
According to the Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior, the border police prevented 164,000 attempts at “irregular border crossings” last year.
In 2021, the number was 55,000.
The Bulgarian government plans stricter laws against people smuggling.
So far, people smugglers have usually only been sentenced to a fine or suspended sentences.
jpz/dpa/AFP