Türkiye nabs 1,177 irregular migrants in 'Shield-19' operations

By Necva Tastan

ISTANBUL (AA) – Türkiye captured 1,177 irregular migrants in "Shield-19" operations in five days, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Friday.

Shield-19 operations targeting human trafficking organizers and irregular migrants are being conducted with mobile migration checkpoint vehicles, said Yerlikaya on X.

"During the first five days of the Ramadan Eid holiday (April 6-7-8-9-10, 2024), coordinated by our Governorates and Directorate General of Migration Management, inspections were carried out in all 30 metropolitan cities with 162 mobile migration checkpoint vehicles by our police, gendarmerie, and coast guard, with 103 of them in Istanbul," he said.

"A total of 22,707 foreigners' identity information was checked, and among them, 1177 were identified as irregular migrants," he added.

Yerlikaya noted that the captured irregular migrants were promptly handed over to the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management offices for immediate deportation procedures.

"We will never allow migrant smugglers who seek to make our country a target and transit route for irregular migration to succeed," he added.