Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova has ruled out that the organized criminal gang smuggling migrants into Austria could be based in Bulgaria.

The group, which was allegedly linked to the deaths of 71 migrants found in a truck near Hungary's border with Austria, was active "in other countries" except for Bulgaria and is a de facto transnational criminal organization, Bachvarova made clear in an interview with private bTV station on Tuesday.

She did not elaborate.

Bachvarova added that Bulgaria had taken active part in the investigation which was prompted by last week's incident, providing cooperation to Austrian and Hungarian authorities.

Reports by Der Spiegel magazine revealed on Monday the names of three of the four Bulgarians detained on suspicions of their involvement. Metodi G. (29), Tsvetan T. (32) and Kasim S. (50) were not lowest-level members of the gang, the weekly said on its website.

Hungary has been seeing over the past weeks the biggest influx of migrants since 2015 began, most of the asylum seekers from Syria or the Middle East reaching its borders via Greece, Macedonia and Serbia to reach EU member Hungary and from there proceed to Germany.

In the minister's words, however, though migrants passing via Macedonia and Greece do not try to make their way through Bulgaria, "this situation might change."

"Nothing rules out the possibility" that migrants entering Greece try to use Bulgaria as part of their journey to Central Europe, Bachvarova warned. Most asylum seekers who make it to Greek land opt for Macedonia instead.

Most people who choose Bulgaria as their entry point into the EU arrive via Turkey, crossing Bulgaria's southeastern border.

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