Security forces have busted a gang smuggling migrants from Türkiye to Italy as a result of four-month-long efforts as part of the country’s fight against irregular migration.
Twenty-three suspects of the gang, led by M.K., were caught by operations carried out by the Çanakkale police and gendarmerie after works coordinated by the Çanakkale public prosecutor’s office.
The operations were carried out in Italy, Çanakkale, the Saros bay and Tekirdağ between May 2 and 31, where 376 irregular migrants and seven suspects were caught.
It was determined that the criminal organization gained approximately TL 309.4 million liras ($7,873,743.62) of unjust profit from these activities.
On June 2, simultaneous operations were conducted in Istanbul, Izmir, Tekirdağ and Kars. Eighteen suspects were detained, and three boats and 11 vehicles were seized.
One of the targeted individuals, A.B., was caught in a forest area in the Burhanlı village of Gelibolu, along with 27 irregular migrants who were being held to be sent to Italy.
It was determined that A.D., one of the detained suspects, was wanted for nine separate migrant smuggling crimes with a total of 19 years and one month of finalized prison time.
Two of the 18 suspects detained were released by the prosecutor's office and 16 suspects were arrested.
The Çanakkale-centered operations come a day after the Interior Ministry had announced that another 273 migrant smugglers had been caught in operations across 51 provinces in Türkiye, as authorities have sped up efforts to combat the phenomenon.
Türkiye once hosted two-thirds of the world's total Syrian refugee population. At its peak, there were more than 3.8 million Syrian refugees in Türkiye.
Some preferred to cross into Europe illegally in pursuit of better lives. In the early years of the Syrian civil war, Türkiye housed thousands of refugees in tent camps and container cities in its southeastern towns, but over time, most refugees settled elsewhere, setting up new lives, particularly in big cities in western Türkiye.
Türkiye boosted security at its land borders and increased coast guard patrols amid the influx, especially in the Aegean Sea, where Türkiye and Greece, the main gateway to Europe for migrants, are littoral.
Some migrants make the dangerous journey over land or sea with the assistance of smugglers, who often abandon them, especially during sea journeys, after receiving thousands of dollars from each migrant. Others are stopped by Turkish security forces before crossing the border into Europe.
In some cases, neighboring Greece is accused of pushing back migrants in a controversial practice. In the Aegean Sea, Greek coast guard boats often drive out approaching migrant boats to the Greek islands.
Over the past five years, 105,437 migrants were intercepted in Turkish seas and rescued by the Coast Guard Command as they headed into rough seas that have claimed many lives over the years.
