Refugee steals mayor's car after escaping transit centre in Pastrigor, Bulgaria

A refugee escaped from the closed‑type transit centre in the village of Pastrigor, Svilengrad municipality, and stole the personal Suzuki Vitara of the village mayor, Ilya Iliev. After fleeing the centre, the man was seen drinking coffee and smoking in a local shop before taking the mayor’s car. Police tracked the vehicle first to the Lyubimec area, then to Harmanli, and finally to the "Troyanovi vrata" checkpoint on the Trakia highway heading toward Sofia. The incident has sparked local concern and calls for tighter security at the transit centre, which authorities say is officially a detention‑type facility. The investigation is ongoing under the supervision of the prosecutor’s office, and a wanted poster of the suspect has been released.