Bulgarian authorities have detained 310 people trying to illegally enter the country between August 13 and August 20, a 50% increase over the previous seven-day period, dnevnik.bg reported on Sunday.
The number of people trying to illegally cross into Bulgaria has been below 200 per week on average in both July and August, the news daily reported, citing data of the Interior Ministry.
The statistical figures don’t include illegal migrants who have been apprehended inside Bulgaria.
Deputy Interior Minister Filip Gunev said on Saturday that close to 15,000 illegal migrants have been detained in the first half of the year either inside the country or while trying to enter or exit its territory.
He also said that the Interior Ministry was not intending to deploy additional staff for the moment, but would continue to follow closely migrant-related developments in neighbouring Macedonia, Turkey and Greece.