SOFIA, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The number of illegal immigrants who were arrested in Bulgaria in the first half of 2017 significantly dropped compared to the same period last year, a report from the country's Interior Ministry showed on Wednesday.
During the first six months of 2017, Bulgarian law enforcement authorities arrested 413 foreigners trying to enter the country illegally, a figure which is 84.5 percent less than the same period of last year, the statistics showed.
As many as 34.4 percent of those arrested were Syrian citizens, 21.3 percent were Iraqis, and 19.9 percent were from Afghanistan, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, 1,880 foreigners were arrested while attempting to illegally leave the country, while in the same period of 2016 the figure was 4,080, the report said.
In addition, the Bulgarian authorities arrested 827 foreigners from January to June who were illegally staying in the country, 67.7 percent less year-on-year.
Bulgaria is located on a direct route of refugee flows from Turkey to central Europe. According to official data, the Interior Ministry arrested 18,844 illegal immigrants in 2016.
