The Turkish coast guard on Tuesday stopped 168 people aboard a fishing boat in the Aegean Sea that authorities said was headed for Italy. In March alone, Turkish authorities stopped 17,587 irregular migrants in the country who were trying to make it to Europe.
CNN Turk on Tuesday (April 5) said Turkey's coast guard stopped 168 migrants aboard a fishing boat in the Aegean Sea that authorities said was headed for Italy. It said the operation took place at 2:15 a.m. off the coast of the Seferihisar district, in the province of Izmir.
Security forces transferred the migrants to detention centers in the area, and two people were arrested and charged with having organized the journey.
In March over 17,000 migrants stopped in Turkey, 759 traffickers arrested
In March, Turkish authorities stopped 17,587 irregular migrants in the country who were trying to make it to Europe "illegally", said Turkish Deputy Interior Minister Ismail Catakli, cited Tuesday by Hurriyet. It said 759 human traffickers have been arrested.
Of the detained migrants, 2,771 attempted to reach Greek islands near the Turkish coast.
Catakli said that since January, a total of 24,013 irregular migrants have been stopped from Afghanistan, 8,198 from Syria, 2,237 from Palestine and 2,079 from Pakistan.
A total of 3.7 million Syrians are officially hosted by Turkey, and Catakli said 492,983 are slated for repatriation.
Under a 2016 agreement, Ankara receives funding from the European Union for the management of migrants. In exchange for the funds, the Turkish authorities agreed to keep its borders closed for those attempting to reach Europe by irregular means.