The Sofia City Court (SCC) ruled to remand the eight accused of migrant trafficking, detained in an operation on June 16 by the “Border Police“, the General Directorate “Fight against Organized Crime“ (GDBOP) and the “Migration Processes“ Directorate of the State Agency “National Security“ (SANS). The court's ruling is not final and is subject to appeal to a higher instance.
According to the court, there is a risk that the accused will commit a crime, as well as a reasonable assumption that they are complicit in the crimes for which they are accused. There is no evidence that there is a risk that they will abscond. The judge noted that there are numerous witnesses in the case who explain the structure of the group and the role of the accused. There is also data in the case regarding human trafficking about the group's connections with Turkey and Romania. In addition, it was indicated that there is evidence that the group was preparing to expand its activities to include drug trafficking.
The detention operation was carried out in Sofia, Stara Zagora, Pernik and Aytos, and charges have been brought against eight people. Four of them are Syrian citizens with humanitarian status, including the leader, and the rest are Bulgarian citizens.
According to prosecutor Mariyan Alexandrov from the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office (SGP), there is a real danger that the accused will commit crimes if they are given a lighter measure than permanent arrest. He noted that in their activities as an organized criminal group, each of them had strictly assigned roles. According to the prosecutor, the four Syrian citizens are at risk of absconding due to their humanitarian status and the fact that they are not citizens of an EU country. The accused Mohamed Moayad is said to be the “leader of the group”, he was born in 2000 in Sofia with Syrian citizenship, according to investigators. His younger brother Mohamed Amondasser also participated in the group.
The defendants' defense lawyers insisted on lighter measures to prevent their clients from being detained. Some of them requested that they be placed under “house arrest“ or “cash bail“.