21 irregular migrants held in northwestern Turkey

By Omer Faruk Cebeci

SAKARYA, Turkey (AA) - Turkish police caught 21 irregular migrants in Turkey’s northwestern province of Sakarya, a local authority said on Tuesday.

Provincial Police Directorate’s Anti-Smuggling teams stopped a bus during traffic control on the Anatolian Highway.

During the search, migrants from Pakistan and Afghanistan, who had entered the country illegally, were held.

Also, three human traffickers were arrested.

Turkey has been a key transit point for irregular migrants aiming to cross to Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

Some 268,000 irregular migrants were held in Turkey in 2018, according to the Interior Ministry, and over 336,000 have been held so far this year.

*Writing by Havva Kara Aydin