Bulgaria ranks third in Europe after Russia and the Ukraine in the number of its citizens who fall prey to human trafficking for sexual exploitation.

This was announced Tuesday during a round table on human trafficking, which took place in Sofia.

The Head of the Human Trafficking Sector at Bulgaria's Interior Ministry Dobromir Dochev explained certain Bulgarian cities such as Sliven, Pazardzhik, Varna, and Burgas carried more risk with human trafficking for sexual exploitation.

80% of the human trafficking victims in Europe are women, which is about 1,5 million people.

According to the data presented at the round table, the Bulgarian organized crime are the second most active in Europe in human trafficking after the Albanian gangsters.

Bulgaria's Deputy Chief Prosecutor Hristo Manchev said 193 cases of human trafficking had been investigated in the first ten months of 2008; 44 persons have been sentenced; 246 Bulgarian citizens have been victims of this type of crime so far in 2008.

Manchev pointed out the prosecution had great difficulties investigating human trafficking cases because of the unwillingness of the victims to witness against their abusers out of fear.

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