site.btaTurkish Coast Guard Intercepts 82 Illegal Migrants

A total of 82 illegal migrants were apprehended off the coast of Seferihisar and Çeşme in the Izmir Province, the Turkish Coast Guard Command said on its website on Wednesday. There were children among the apprehended groups of migrants.

A rubber boat carrying 41 migrants, including 17 children, was intercepted by the coast guard in the sea off the coast of Seferihisar. 

Another boat was spotted by a reconnaissance aircraft off the coast of Çeşme. The coast guard's anti-smuggling and organized crime teams detained 23 illegal migrants on board, including 8 children.

During the operation, 10 illegal migrants in another boat were also intercepted - the group included two children, who were preparing to set sail.

In the same area, coast guard teams apprehended another group of eight illegal migrants, including one child, as they attempted to set sail in a boat.

The teams detained two people involved in the illegal trafficking of migrants, who were handed over to the judicial authorities in Izmir.

The illegal migrants were handed over to the Regional Migration Management Directorate in Izmir to be returned.