Wants Bulgarian state to fund operation and pay for every captured refugee

He hands illegal migrants over to the police 'because they are all jihadists'

A self-styled migrant hunter has organised gangs of vigilantes to patrol and hunt down illegal asylum seekers in Bulgaria.

Dinko Valev, 29, has managed to acquire two armoured vehicles to travel through rough territory around the city of Yambol near the border with Turkey.

He says the reaction has been so positive among the population that he is now trying to recruit more people to expand his vigilante operation.

And he even wants the Bulgarian government to fund the operation and pay for every captured refugee.

He regards every illegal migrant as a jihadist and dismissed claims he was terrorising his captives.

He said: 'I would describe it as simply a sporting activity. You can't describe sportsmen as violent.'

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Bounty hunter: Bulgarian gangster Dinko Valev stis on an armoured vehicle which he uses to track down and round up illegal migrants near his home in the city of Yambol in south-eastern Bulgaria

Valev (posing at home in his dressing gown) says the reaction has been so positive he is now trying to recruit more people to expand his vigilante operation and even wants the Bulgarian government to help fund it

Terrified migrants are forced to lie face down on the ground after being rounded up by one of Valev's patrols

Huddled in fear: Suspected illegal migrants cower on the ground after being 'caught' by Valev. Human rights activists have accused Valev of terrorising his captives with death threats

Valev says people have been turning up with off-road trial bikes and dogs to help in the search for illegal immigrants.

Others, including himself, also set off on their hunts on horses. When captured, the immigrants are then handed over to police, he said.

But the hunts organised by Valev have been slammed by the Helsinki Committee who have demanded officials clamp down on the immigrant roundups being organised by Dinko, saying what he is doing is illegal and branding him a criminal.

The Helsinki Committees for Human Rights are non-profit organisations devoted to human rights present in many countries, including Bulgaria.

In a statement to MailOnline, a spokesman said: 'Valev admits that he has hurt these people.

'His victims included men, women and children fleeing Syria. In one incident, he forced them to lie face down for half an hour after terrorising them with death threats.

'In another refugee roundup, he boasts about tracking a man for a while before finally capturing him.

'He repeatedly makes offensive remarks about refugees and it's clear that he plans to expand his volunteer corps to focus on capturing more asylum seekers.

'Even more worrying is that he wants the state to fund his operation and to pay for every captured refugee.

'So he is not only spreading fear of refugees within Bulgarian society, and inspiring people to treat them with disgust and hostility, and to reject them, but he's also asking for his actions to be supported.'

Valev says volunteers have been turning up with off-road trial bikes and dogs to help in the search for migrants

Valev has even managed to acquire two armoured personnel carriers to travel through the rough territory

Instead of getting the backing of authorities, the Helsinki committee statement sparked widespread outrage with a petition now being organised which has attracted thousands of signatures, demanding people support Valev.

In the first few hours alone, it ended up with 2,000 supporters.

Comments included one who wrote: 'We don't have a state that cares for Bulgarians. It is time for all Bulgarians to be united. I am proud of what Dinko is doing.'

Another added: 'Dinko is hero, we need more like Dinko. Jail time for the members of the Helsinki Committee, not for Dinko, you traitors!'

A Facebook page has also been set up supporting him.

Facebook user Hristo Dimov wrote: 'Let's protect Dinko from the Bulgarophobe such as the Helsinki committee.

'People are beaten on motorways, in discos, robberies are happening every night and every day,

'But Dinko Valev who protects us from the refugees and assists border controls in their work should be prosecuted?'

Valev has thousands of supporters online, with some calling him a 'hero' and human rights groups 'traitors'

Valev started the patrols after himself becoming a victim of an attack by migrants who tried to steal his bike

The mercenaries patrol through rough territory around the city of Yambol near the border with Turkey

Speaking on Bulgarian national TV, Dinko Valev said he had started the patrols after himself becoming a victim of an attack by migrants is now determined to round them up and see that they were evicted from the country.

He said they wanted to steal his motorbike and were shouting 'Allah'.

He said: 'I'm not organising anything other than inviting people to join me.

'I would describe it as simply a sporting activity. I am a sportsman, you can't describe sportsmen as violent. I have to do a public service at the same time that protects Bulgarians.'

Meanwhile, he has made no secret of the fact that he regards every illegal immigrant as most likely a jihadist.

In a TV interview, Valev said they make sure that all the immigrants they capture are handed over to police.