site.btaTurkish Police Arrest 142 Illegal Migrants, Group of Traffickers in Five Provinces

A group of 142 illegal migrants and 49 trafficking ringleaders have been detained in operations by Turkish security forces in the provinces of Edirne, Istanbul, Izmir, Diyarbakir and Amasya, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on the social network X as quoted by TRT Haber. Searches found five unregistered pistols and rifles, six vehicles and a large amount of foreign currency and Turkish lira.

The groups were arrested during an operation conducted jointly with the provinces' security directorates fighting illegal trafficking, the border guard services and gendarmerie. 

Yerlikaya said that migrant traffickers were trying to turn Turkiye into a target and a transit route for illegal migration and that the fight against it would continue unabated.