ANKARA - Turkish security forces arrested 452 illegal migrants Monday in separate operations carried out through out the country.
Coast Guard units stationed in Didim town of the Aegean province of Aydin caught a total of 117 illegal migrants who were of Palestinian and Iraqi origin on an attempt to cross the Aegean sea in to Greece with inflatable boats, in two separate locations.
Also, Coast Guard units patrolling offshore of north western province of Canakkale caught 19 illegal migrants of Palestinian origin who were attempting to cross the waters to Greek Islands. Illegal migrants were handed to local authorities to be deported following legal proceedings.
In two separate operations waged by gendarmerie forces in Gurpinar and Caldiran towns of the eastern border province of Van, 107 Pakistani, 75 Afghan and 10 Bangladeshi citizens were arrested for entering Turkey, illegally.
During road controls in the southeastern province of Gaziantep, gendarmerie forces stopped a lorry which was loaded with illegal migrants, and arrested the truck driver along with 102 Pakistani, Afghan and Bangladeshi migrants. The migrants who entered Turkey illegally over Iran to cross into Greece, have been starving for three days.
In two other operations carried out in northwestern province of Yalova and northeastern province of Bartin, 22 illegal migrants of Afghan, Palestinian and Georgian origin were arrested.
All illegal migrants will be deported following legal procedures.
(OZG-SOL)
(GEN)