Since the start of 2023, Bulgaria has seen a drastic surge in trafficking-related pre-trial proceedings, with 1,277 cases initiated, marking a staggering 60% increase compared to the same period in 2022. This revelation came from Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov during a forum in Brussels. Shockingly, more than 90% of those implicated in the country's trafficking networks are individuals who are not Bulgarian citizens.

The upsurge in legal actions against traffickers, particularly within the last few months, aligns with recent legislative changes. These new regulations have led to a significant uptick in legal actions, with authorities seizing over 400 vehicles—comprising buses, trucks, and cars—used for transporting migrants. Alongside this crackdown, the number of convictions related to human trafficking has spiked by 31%. Impressively, 809 individuals have faced convictions within the initial nine months of this year, a figure tripling that of 2021.

These alarming statistics underscore the prominence of non-citizens in perpetrating illegal migrant trafficking within Bulgaria. The sharp increase in legal actions and convictions reflects the country's intensified efforts to combat this concerning trend.