Some 120 irregular migrants found cramped in apartment

VAN

Security forces have found 115 irregular migrants cramped in just two flats of an apartment in the eastern province of Van.

Authorities in the province demolished the shacks and idle buildings, which human traffickers previously used to hide people who enter Turkey illegally, but, the traffickers started to use regular apartments to conduct their operations, the local police department said in a statement.

As part of the crackdown on human traffickers, a total of 115 irregular migrants were apprehended in a raid on two flats in an apartment, the statement added, noting that legal action was taken against a suspect for migrant smuggling.

Since the start of the year, 260 people were detained in connection with migrant smuggling and 117 of those were arrested, the statement said.

Some 85 shacks and idle structures, known as “shock houses,” have been demolished, it added.

Separately, the Istanbul Governor’s office said that more than 38,200 irregular migrants had been held in the country’s largest city since the start of 2021 and handed to the local migration office for deportation procedures, it added.

Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum seekers who want to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

Turkey, which already hosts 4 million refugees -- more than any country in the world -- is taking new security measures within and on borders to prevent a fresh influx of migrants.