Over 270 illegal migrants stopped across the country

At least 276 illegal migrants were held across Turkey, security sources said Thursday.

In eastern Erzincan province, after receiving a tip-off that some migrants entered Turkey by illegal means, police rounded up 69 irregular migrants, all Afghan nationals.

Separately, the Turkish Coast Guard rounded up 64 migrants - 36 from Central Africa, 19 from the Democratic Republic of Congo and nine from Palestine - in a boat off the Sığacık gulf of the Aegean province of Izmir.

Some 17 other illegal migrants - four Syrian, five Afghan and eight Ghana nationals - in İzmir's Çeşme district were rounded up by gendarmerie forces as they were hiding in bushes and carrying an inflatable boat. Two suspects were arrested on the charge of human smuggling.

Gendarmerie forces in northwestern Edirne province held 123 illegal migrants from Palestine, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. In another operation in northwestern Tekirdağ province, gendarmerie forces held three irregular migrants from Afghanistan during regular patrols. Two human smugglers were arrested. All migrants were referred to the provincial migration directorates.

In recent years, Turkey has been a main route for irregular migrants trying to cross to Europe, especially since 2011, the start of the Syrian civil war.