Bulgaria expels Syrian, Afghan for posing threat to national security
Xinhua, July 15, 2015 Adjust font size:
Bulgarian law enforcement authorities have expelled one Syrian and one Afghan citizen who endangered the security of the country and the European Union, officials said Wednesday.
The Syrian citizen has been permanently residing in Bulgaria since 30 years but went to Syria after conflict broke, the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior and the State Agency for National Security said in a joint statement.
It was found that for the period from late 2013 to mid 2014, he had been in contact with various Syrian armed groups, including terrorist organizations.
In mid 2014, the Syrian returned to Bulgaria, periodically traveled to Turkey and Syria, and later he began to organize illegal migrant smuggling to Western Europe, the statement said.
The other expelled Afghan citizen illegally entered Bulgaria from Turkey in January 2015. Authorities obtained evidence that he participated in hostilities in Afghanistan and had potential links to the Taliban, the statement said.
In May, Bulgaria expelled two migrant traffickers, an Iraqi citizen residing in Bulgaria since 1996, and a Somali citizen residing in Bulgaria since 2014. Endit