Undocumented migrants wrapped in aluminum foil caught on a truck in Istanbul

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

Customs enforcement officers in Istanbul’s Pendik port have caught seven undocumented Iranian migrants, wrapped in aluminum foil in order to hide from an x-ray detector, on an 18-wheeler truck en route to Italy.

The suspicious truck, which was declared to be carrying auto parts, was stopped for x-ray detection on June 6.

The unidentified objects detected by x-ray operators were discovered to be seven migrants wrapped in aluminum foil after a detailed search.

The truck driver and seven illegal migrants were detained.

The Pendik port serves international roll-on roll-off (RO-RO) ferries en route to European countries.

Turkish security forces have rounded up about 600 illegal migrants near the borders with Greece and Iran, and on the Aegean coasts, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on June 6.

Among the migrants were Afghan, Pakistani, Palestinian, Iraqi, Moroccan, Algerian, Sri Lankan and Vietnamese nationals.

Turkey has in recent years become a main route for refugees trying to cross into Europe, especially since the beginning of the civil war in Syria.