Aksu: Almost 420,000 Illegal Immigrants Were Caught Since 1993

MARDIN - Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu said on Saturday that almost 420,000 illegal immigrants were caught in Turkey since 1993 and they were handed over to concerned institutions.
Aksu visited southeastern Mardin Governor Temel Kocaklar the same day.
Upon a question of a reporter about the inclusion of Turkey in the third group of the U.S.'s list of countries in stopping human trafficking, Aksu said that ''the list was prepared by taking wrong information. We are very sorry as Turkey was taken to the third group of countries. We officially conveyed our sorrow to the U.S. Since 1993, almost 420,000 illegal immigrants were caught and handed over to concerned institutions. Among those people, there was a 25-member foreign gang which was involved in human trafficking.''
Aksu later visited Dayrulzafaran Monastery and attended the opening of Buyuk Mardin Hotel. Speaking during the ceremony, Aksu said that Habur Border Gate was very important in respect of economy of the region and the country.
''Prime Minister charged four ministers including me for opening of the border gate as soon as possible. We had a meeting, as the four ministers, with concerned bureaucrats...We'll open the gate soon. We also discussed opening new border gates in the region,'' he said.
(Öª) 15.06.2003