More than 1,100 irregular migrants caught in a day: Ministry

ANKARA

A total of 1,141 irregular migrants and some 18 human traffickers have been detained in a day in simultaneous operations across the country, the Turkish Interior Ministry has announced.

“The joint operations were held by the police, gendarmerie and Coast Guard units on July 19,” the ministry said in a statement.

Nearly 33,000 security personnel and some 152 sniffer dogs took place in the operations, it added.

The ministry did not exactly specify the provinces and the districts the operations were conducted but said that “abandoned structures that migrants could use, public houses, lorry garages, terminals, harbors, fishing ports, public transports and stations were searched.”

According to the ministry, the security units looked up to a total of 21,963 places in some 7,161 regions.

The ministry listed “some 6,024 abandoned structures, 11,296 public houses, 485 terminals, and 4,158 other places” which the security units searched.

The ministry also highlighted that 12 of the 18 human traffickers were foreigners. However, the officials did not declare the foreigners’ nationalities.

One other success achieved in the operations was catching some 610 persons sought.

“Also, administrative sanctions were implemented to a total of 414 people, 66 Turks and 348 foreigners,” the ministry stated.

The security forces in Türkiye regularly conduct operations against irregular migrants. Recently, the ministry announced that more than 5,000 migrants were caught on the Aegean coastline of the country between July 8 and 14.

Most of them were Afghans and Pakistanis.

According to the ministry, some 17,000 irregular migrants are currently accommodated in detention centers across the country, waiting to be sent back to their homelands.