Illegal entry

A significant development unfolded in Silistra, northwestern Bulgaria, where authorities successfully detained a group of eight illegal migrants, marking a crucial step in addressing the ongoing challenges related to illegal migration. The detainees, hailing from Syria and Iraq, included minors and were part of a larger group attempting unauthorized entry into Bulgaria.

Bulgarian border police successfully prevented approximately 180,000 attempts by migrants to enter the country illegally in 2023, according to recent data released by the Interior Ministry on Wednesday.

Bulgaria's border police have been working tirelessly to prevent illegal entry into the country, successfully thwarting more than 170,000 attempts by citizens of third countries since the start of this year. According to the Ministry of the Interior, the Bulgarian-Turkish border has been the epicenter of this migratory pressure, accounting for over 99% of the total incidents.

Greek authorities foiled the illegal entry of 2,720 undocumented migrants into the country between August 14 and 17, as announced on Sunday.

During the same time frame, police apprehended 85 undocumented migrants, as stated in the same announcement.

The Greek Coast Guard rescued 53 migrants from an inflatable boat located off the coast of Lesvos in the eastern Aegean on Friday.

The Coast Guard said six of the people on the boat removed the engine and made holes in the dinghy when they saw the patrol vessel approaching.

Police teams have caught 109 irregular migrants during an operation in the western province of Izmir's Konak district.

Authorities arrested the skipper and owner of a Polish-flagged sailing vessel at a private marina in the port of Lavrio on the eastern coast of Attica on charges of facilitating the illegal entry of five foreign nationals into Greece from Cesme on the Turkish coast. 

More than 38,000 migrant smugglers have been apprehended and over 9,000 suspects have been arrested in Turkey in the past six years, according to the Presidency of Migration Management.

From Jan. 1 to April 19 this year, security forces have captured 2,545 migrant smugglers, which points to a 53 percent increase from the same period in 2021, the authority said in a statement.

Turkish forces on Nov. 1 held some 164 irregular migrants in provinces in the country's east, along with rescuing 101 asylum seekers from sea after an illegal pushback by Greece, security sources said.

Gendarmerie forces in the Ardahan province stopped three vehicles at a checkpoint and caught 27 irregular migrants as well as three drivers suspected of human trafficking.

Turkey has held nearly 95,000 irregular migrants since the start of this year, the country's deputy interior minister said on Sept. 6. 

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A total of 94,915 irregular migrants, including 40,098 Afghans, have been held since the beginning of the year, Ismail Çataklı told a monthly news conference in the capital Ankara.