ANKARA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's gendarmerie has detained 171 suspected migrant smuggling organizers in a nationwide coordinated operation over the past two weeks, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Thursday.
"In operations conducted by our Gendarmerie in 26 provinces over the past two weeks, we have apprehended 171 organizers of migrant smuggling," Yerlikaya said on social media platform X.
Authorities also seized 86 vehicles and eight boats believed to have been used in smuggling, Yerlikaya said. Judicial proceedings have been launched against the suspects, with 59 formally arrested and 21 released under judicial supervision. Legal procedures for the remaining detainees are ongoing.
As a major transit and destination country, Türkiye has stepped up efforts to curb irregular migration and dismantle smuggling networks along key routes into Europe. ■