The Turkish news platform Daily Sabah reports that earlier this week, security forces detained at least 66 irregular migrants in various parts of the country during a series of operations.
A major police operation in the city of Izmir resulted in 54 irregular migrants being taken into detention in two separate raids, according to Daily Sabah.
The first group of 18 migrants was reportedly detected by an unmanned aerial vehicle operated by the Turkish coast guard in the early hours of June 30. The drone discovered the migrants in the Cesme district, located in close proximity to the Greek island of Chios.
The coast guard regional command then coordinated the interception of the migrants with the local gendarmerie, says the local newspaper Ege Telgraf, citing the privately-owned IHA news agency.
Later in the morning, a mobile surveillance vehicle also operated by the Turkish coast guard noticed a rubber boat departing from the Cesme coast. Officials stopped the vessel, taking the 36 migrants on board into detention.
In total, 54 migrants were in Izmir and then transferred to the provincial migration office upon processing that day.
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Further interceptions near northeast border
Meanwhile in the northwestern city of Edirne, near Turkey’s borders with Greece and Bulgaria, security forces reportedly intercepted six foreign nationals who are believed to have entered the country illegally; the migrants were transferred for processing to the provincial migration office.
The arrests took place during a series of inspections across the city, says Daily Sabah.
In the neighboring district of Kirklareli, another six irregular migrants were also detained and then sent to the local migrant removal center; it is unclear why they were streamlined for removal from Turkey.
In total, the raids resulted in 12 confirmed interceptions of migrants; however, the Haberturk news channel cited the number of arrests that day to be as many as 18, with ten cases in Edirne, and eight in Kirklareli.
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Turkey's role in EU migration control
Turkey has significantly beefed up its border controls in recent years to combat irregular migration and human trafficking. Under a 2016 deal with the EU, Turkish authorities are tasked with keeping migrants from reaching European soil -- in exchange for billions of euros from Brussels.
The nation outside the European Union has for years served as a transit country for millions of migrants hoping to reach the bloc.
Turkey is widely believed to host the largest number of migrants and refugees worldwide, with an estimated 4 million Syrians having escaped to the country during the 13-year civil war.
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