Turkiye detains 155 in nationwide crackdown on human smuggling

Turkish authorities have detained 155 human smuggling suspects in coordinated operations across 15 provinces over the past two weeks, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Friday.



In a statement on social media platform X, Yerlikaya said the crackdown, backed by ground forces and drones, targeted trafficking routes from major cities to coastal regions.



He added that 50 suspects were arrested and imprisoned, while 27 were placed under judicial control. Legal proceedings are ongoing for the remainder. During the operations, authorities also seized 81 vehicles and six boats used in migrant smuggling.



Yerlikaya said that Turkiye has bolstered its border security with advanced monitoring and control systems and taken both on-the-ground and legal measures against smuggling networks.