48 human smuggling suspects, 904 irregular migrants detained in Türkiye
Turkish Counter Migrant Smuggling And Border Gates Department police officer. (AA Photo)
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that 48 human smuggling suspects, including 15 foreigners, were arrested in the “Kalkan-34” operations conducted nationwide.
A total of 904 irregular migrants were also apprehended during the operations, which aimed to combat human trafficking and illegal immigration.
Nationwide operations target human smuggling networks in Türkiye
According to Minister Yerlikaya, the coordinated operations were conducted with the participation of the Turkish National Police, Gendarmerie, Coast Guard, and the Directorate General of Migration Management, in collaboration with public prosecutors.
The operations targeted various locations, including abandoned buildings, entertainment venues, truck garages, bus terminals, ports, and public transportation stations.
Key details of the operations
- Some 48 human smuggling suspects were arrested, including 15 foreign nationals.
- Over 900 irregular migrants were apprehended during the operations.
- 383,969 people underwent identity checks at key locations across Türkiye.
- Deportation procedures for detained irregular migrants are underway.
Efficient use of mobile migration units
In a social media post, Yerlikaya also highlighted the deployment of 270 mobile migration vehicles across 81 provinces, which provide critical tools such as fingerprint devices, computers, and interpreters to swiftly check the status of foreign nationals.
We have 270 mobile migration point vehicles in 1 province. At the mobile migration point: There is a computer connected to the GocNET database, a fingerprint device, our migration experts, and an interpreter.
We check the status of foreigners who do not have their ID cards or passports with them quickly and easily through Mobile Migration Point vehicles.
With this practice, while we are waging a great fight against irregular immigration on the one hand, we are also not disturbing foreigners and tourists who have the right to stay legally in our country.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya
