UPDATE - 137 irregular migrants held in Turkey

UPDATES TOTAL NUMBER OF IRREGULAR MIGRANTS; CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE; ADDS DETAILS

By Burak Milli, Mesut Varol and Kemal Ozdemir

HATAY / VAN / ERZINCAN, Turkey (AA) – At least 85 irregular migrants were held by security forces across Turkey on Saturday.

Gendarmerie forces carried out an operation in the town of Reyhanli in the southern Hatay province after getting a tip about migrants.

Forty-three irregular migrants who had entered the country illegally were held, and a person suspected of human smuggling was arrested and remanded in custody.

The migrants were taken to the local migration office for routine procedures.

Separately, police held 42 irregular migrants found in a barn in the town of Ipekyolu in the eastern province of Van.

While the migrants were taken to the local migration office after health checks, legal action was launched against the barn owners and the suspected organizers of human smuggling.

In the eastern province of Erzincan, as many as 52 irregular migrants living in an abandoned house were held by the police.

Anti-smuggling teams had been surveilling the house to see if irregular migrants were being mistreated by a smuggler.

An Afghan national who allegedly organized illegal border crossings was arrested by the police.

Irregular migrants trying to flee were held and taken to the police department.

Security sources said the migrants would be transferred to the local migration office after routine procedures.

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

Turkey, which already hosts 4 million refugees, more than any country in the world, is taking new security measures on its borders to prevent a fresh influx of migrants.

*Writing by Dilan Pamuk in Ankara