During a specialized operation, police officers from Shumen detained 13 men who illegally crossed Bulgaria’s state border, the press center of the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior announced.

Six of them were transported by a 34-year-old man from the village of Podvis in a car with Plovdiv registration plates. The other seven were detained in a car without license plates, driven by a 28-year-old man from the same village. The detainees had no identity documents and introduced themselves as migrants from Afghanistan.

All 13 men, aged 18 to 33, were detained for up to 24 hours at the Veliki Preslav police station to establish their identities.

The drivers of the two cars transporting the migrants were also detained. Their involvement in other similar cases in Shumen district, is being clarified. Pre-trial proceedings have been instituted.