22 irregular migrants held in southern Turkey

By Muzaffer Cagliyaner

OSMANIYE, Turkey (AA) - At least 22 irregular migrants were held in Turkey’s southern Osmaniye province on Sunday, a security source said.

Police teams stopped a minibus at a check point on the Tarsus-Adana-Gaziantep Highway and found 11 Syrian and as many Egyptian nationals who had entered the country illegally, said the source on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The migrants were transferred to the provincial migration office after routine procedures.

It was learnt that irregular migrants had paid $3,000 to the human traffickers to reach the country via Iran.

The driver of the minibus was arrested, the source said.

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.

Turkey hosts nearly 4 million refugees, including more than 3.6 million Syrians, the most of any country in the world.

*Writing by Havva Kara Aydin