Over 610 migrants held in Turkey

By Salih Baran, Mehmet Ulusoylar and Ali Riza Akkir

EDIRNE/KASTAMONU/MUGLA, Turkey (AA) - Security forces on Monday held a total of 610 migrants in three Turkish provinces, said officials.

More than 434 migrants have been rounded up during separate anti-trafficking operations in northwestern Edirne province.

In several districts of Edirne, the gendarmerie force held the migrants including nationals of Syria, Pakistan, Morocco, Myanmar, and Bangladesh, a security official, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media, told Anadolu Agency.

The migrants, attempting to illegally cross the Greek and Bulgarian border, were sent to the regional immigration department, the official added.

Separately, a truck carrying 148 migrants in northern Kastamonu province’s Tosya district was seized on Sunday.

The truck -- carrying citizens from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Syria -- was travelling from Dogubayazit, a Turkish town near the Iranian border, to Istanbul.

The unidentified driver was arrested and the truck was seized by the provincial anti-trafficking teams.

Also on Monday, 28 migrants from Afghanistan, Somalia and Iran were held at the Fethiye Bus Terminal of the southwestern Mugla province.

The migrants will be transferred to the foreigners’ branch of Fethiye police headquarters to be deported.