By Hamdi Celikbas and Jeyhun Aliyev
ANKARA (AA) – Turkish authorities held 99 irregular migrants across the country and rescued 10 asylum seekers off the country’s Aegean coast, officials said on Friday.
Some 36 irregular migrants – 23 from Afghanistan, nine from Pakistan and four from Bangladesh – with no identity documents were held in three vans that were stopped during the operation in the capital Ankara, said a security official on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
Acting on a tip-off, police launched an anti-human smuggling operation to apprehend the migrants who were said to have entered Turkey through Iran and arrive in Ankara from the country’s eastern Agri and Van provinces.
The van drivers – identified only by initials E.A., L.A. and D.S. – were arrested, the official said, adding that the migrants will be deported.
Also, 63 irregular migrants of Pakistani origin were held by the Turkish Coast Guard off the coastal district of Milas in the southwestern Mugla province.
Two suspected migrant smugglers were also arrested.
All of the migrants were later referred to the provincial migration directorate.
Separately, Turkish Coast Guard teams rescued 10 asylum seekers off the coast of the Dikili district in western Izmir province.
A rubber boat carrying the asylum seekers had been pushed into Turkish territorial waters by the Greek Coast Guard.
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.
The country hosts nearly 4 million refugees, more than any other country in the world.
