Turkey Detains 200 Individuals in Human Trafficking Crackdown
Turkey's Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday that it has detained 200 individuals on human trafficking charges over the past month while apprehending more than 4,000 irregular migrants.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya reported via X that extensive operations conducted by the Gendarmerie across all 81 provinces led to the arrests of 200 suspected migrant smuggling organizers. Among these, 82 smugglers were taken into custody, and 31 were referred to the judiciary. Authorities also seized 107 vehicles believed to be used in human trafficking and smuggling operations.
“The captured irregular immigrants have been handed over to the Provincial Directorate of Immigration Management, and deportation procedures have been initiated immediately,” Yerlikaya stated.
No details were disclosed regarding the nationalities of the detained migrants. Turkey serves as a significant destination for migrants from the Middle East and various Central and Southern Asian countries seeking to relocate to Europe or using Turkey as a transit route.
Currently, approximately 3.2 million Syrian refugees, who fled their country’s ongoing conflict, reside in Turkey, enjoying temporary protection status, according to the Turkish Presidency of Migration Management. Turkey is also a key transit and destination point for migrants from other regions, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, and Ukraine.
According to a January report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Turkey was home to over 296,685 refugees and asylum seekers in 2023.
The Turkish government has periodically intensified its efforts to combat human trafficking and apprehend irregular migrants. In April, Minister Yerlikaya announced that over 1,000 migrants were detained in a four-day operation during the Eid holidays.
In 2016, Turkey and the European Union signed a multi-billion euro agreement aimed at curbing the migration flow to Europe. Under the terms of the deal, Ankara committed to preventing irregular migration to Europe and accepting asylum seekers rejected by the EU.
