The Plovdiv Regional Court has convicted three foreign nationals of organizing the trafficking of migrants across Bulgarian territory, delivering suspended sentences and sizeable fines for the cars used. The penalty is financial as the cars used to transport the refugees are not their property.

The first person convicted is a 32-year old Turkish national, detained in August on Trakia motorway while transporting 23 foreigners who stated they were from Afghanistan. He was given a suspended prison sentence of 2 years 10 months, plus a fine of EUR 50,580. The second man convicted is 40 years old, and is from Azerbaijan, also detained on Trakia motorway with three refugees – a Syrian, a Palestinian and a Yemeni. He was given a 1.5 year suspended sentence, plus a fine of EUR 20,350. The third trafficker, who is 20 years old, is from Moldova, and he was detained again on Trakia motorway with 6 illegal Syrians. His was given an almost 2-year suspended sentence and an administrative fine of almost EUR 3,000. The cars confiscated from the three men have been returned to their owners; the sentences are definitive, after a plea bargain with the prosecutor’s office, approved by the court.