1,510 irregular migrants and 74 smugglers caught: Minister Yerlikaya

ANKARA

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has announced that 74 migrant smuggling organizers and 1,510 irregular migrants were caught in the scope of "SHIELD-5" operations organized in 20 provinces.

"In operations carried out by our Gendarmerie, Police and Coast Guard in 63 different locations in 20 provinces including Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Ağrı, Antalya, Bitlis, Bolu, Çanakkale, Edirne, Gaziantep, Iğdır, Kocaeli, Konya, Malatya, Muğla, Nevşehir, Sakarya, Şanlıurfa and Van; 74 migrant smuggling organizers were caught. Five of them were arrested. Two of them were given a judicial control decision. The procedures of the others are ongoing," Yerlikaya wrote on his social media account.

On Dec. 31, 2023, police, gendarmerie and the Coast Guard will continue their inspections uninterruptedly with Mobile Migration Point vehicles and expert personnel, which facilitate and accelerate the detection of irregular migrants, under the coordination of governorships and the Directorate of Migration Management in 81 provinces, with a focus on Istanbul.

Stating that the fight against migrant smuggling and irregular migration will continue with perseverance and determination, Yerlikaya added, "Including our 52 Mobile Migration Point vehicles and our 156 personnel in different parts of Istanbul, we will continue our inspections for 24 hours uninterruptedly with a total of 97 Mobile Migration Point vehicles and 291 expert personnel from our Directorate of Migration Management throughout the country."