2 Bulgarian Tourists To Be Tried in Greece for Picking Up Refugee Hitchhikers

Crime | August 28, 2015, Friday // 10:01
Bulgaria: 2 Bulgarian Tourists To Be Tried in Greece for Picking Up Refugee Hitchhikers Photo by BGNES

Two Bulgarian tourists will be tried in Greece for picking up hitchhikers who turned out to be refugees.

The two Bulgarian nationals have been charged with smuggling migrants and may be handed prison sentences, according to reports of Sega daily.

The case caused Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry to issue a warning against picking up hitchhikers in Greece.

The investigation into the case continues.

The two Bulgarian tourists were arrested in the region of Komotini.

They were traveling in the direction of Alexandroupolis and picked up hitchhikers without knowing that they were refugees.

The two were arrested after a police inspection at the motorway and were charged with illegal smuggling of immigrants, an offense punishable by minimum 2 years of imprisonment per refugee, according to Greek laws.

According to Greek police sources, as cited by Sega daily, the fact that the Bulgarians were tourists who picked up random strangers does not entail an acquittal.

Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry was informed about the matter after relatives of the arrested Bulgarians asked for assistance in a letter.

Meanwhile, three other Bulgarian nationals aged 31, 43, and 44, were arrested in the region of Xanthi for smuggling illegal immigrants.

They were driving three cars in which there were 16 immigrants.

The three Bulgarians were arrested after a police chase after failing to stop for an inspection on the road Komotini – Xanthi.

The cars were confiscated.

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Tags: hitchhikers, Foreign Ministry, smuggling, illegal immigrants, Xanthi, Komotini

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