Turkey rounds up scores of illegal immigrants
Afp, Istanbul
Turkish security forces detained almost 90 illegal immigrants from Asia and the Middle East and three suspected Turkish traffickers during two raids here, Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. Acting on a tip-off, paramilitary police found 38 Iraqis and 11 Palestinians in a truck in the suburb of Esenyurt, on Istanbul's European side. The immigrants had reportedly paid between 4,000 and 6,000 dollars (2,900 and 4,370 euros) each to be transported by boat to Greece via the Maritza River, which forms the Turkish-Greek border. They had sneaked in from Iraq and Syria. A follow-up operation in the district of Pendik, on Istanbul's Asian side, resulted in the detention of 30 Afghans and 10 Pakistanis found on another truck, Anatolia reported. The immigrants were due to be deported, and the two Turkish truck drivers and their suspected accomplice were jailed pending trial on charges of human trafficking. Turkey is a major route for human smuggling from Asia to Europe and illegal immigrants are detained on an almost daily basis. The immigrants often try to cross to Greece by land, or brave sea journeys to Greece or Italy, often aboard unseaworthy vessels.
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