Turkey captures 978 for illegal cross-border attempts

ANKARA

AA Photo

Some 978 people have been captured ahead of illegal crossings through Turkish borders, the Turkish General Staff has said.

The general staff said in a written statement that 978 people were captured before illegally crossing Turkey’s borders with Greece, Bulgaria, Syria, Iraq and Iran on Dec. 26.

Some 697 of them were captured as they attempted to cross into Turkey from Syria. Six other people were captured ahead of crossing into the country from Iraq and Iran. Turkish authorities also captured three people before they illegally crossed into Syria.

Near the border with Greece, 26 people were captured as they attempted to cross into Greece from Turkey’s northwest, while 21 other people were captured ahead of illegally crossing into Bulgaria. 

Turkish security forces also seized 496 boxes of cigarettes, 20 kilograms of tea, 252 bottles of alcohol, a car, four cellphones and several electronic devices, which all appeared to be smuggled.

Meanwhile, seven suspected members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) were detained for attempting to cross the border illegally into Syria, the Turkish Armed Forces announced on Dec. 27.

“Seven people suspected of being ISIL militants, one of whom is a child, were detained in the Elbeyli district of the southeastern Kilis province for trying to cross the border illegally,” the statement said.