Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2026 All Rights Reserved

Caretaker cabinet seeks harsher penalties for trafficking of illegal migrants

A police officer sustained a life-threatening brain injury after a car chase with traffickers and migrants, 22 November, 2022
Photo: BGNES

In a letter to the MPs, the caretaker cabinet proposes amendments to the criminal code connected with harsher penalties for persons involved in the illegal trafficking of migrants.

Some of the proposals aim to prevent suspended sentences. The proposals include confiscation of vehicles and fines when the vehicle does not belong to the driver. “The Interior Ministry cannot be left alone in this fight,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivan Demerdzhiev.

“In this regard, penal legislation is adequate enough,” deputy chair of the parliamentary Committee on Internal Security and Public Order Rena Stefanova from We Continue the Change, who is a lawyer, said for the BNR. “Law students in their third year get to learn that what matters is not how harsh the prescribed punishment is, but the inevitability of execution of punishment – and it is precisely in this that we have a problem,” she added. In her words, few human traffickers are investigated and sentenced.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

A warning for dangerous rainfall has been issued for 12 regions in Southern Bulgaria

On Friday, the lowest temperatures will be between 4°C and 9°C, reaching up to 12°C in the southeast, around 6°C in Sofia . During the next 24 hours, the weather will remain cloudy. It will rain in almost the entire country. During the day, rainfall..

published on 11/27/25 6:45 PM

Varna mayor Blagomir Kotsev released pending trial on €102,258 bond

The Varna District Court has released the city’s mayor, Blagomir Kotsev, on a financial bond of €102,258. Before the court’s decision was announced, supporters of the mayor and members of the We Continue the Change party gathered outside the..

published on 11/27/25 5:37 PM

Three detained and five police officers injured at last night's protest in Sofia

Three people, including an Italian citizen, were arrested during last night's protest against the adoption of the 2026 budget in front of the National Assembly, the director of the Sofia Directorate of Internal Affairs, Chief Commissioner Lyubomir..

published on 11/27/25 3:50 PM