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Ali Yerlikaya announces: Major operation against migrant smugglers!

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that 257 suspected organizers were apprehended, 59 were arrested, and judicial control measures were imposed on 22 others during the "Kalkan-28" operations conducted against migrant smuggling organizers and irregular migrants across 41 provinces over the last 2 weeks.

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Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya made a statement on his X account regarding the Kalkan-28 operations carried out in 41 provinces over the last 2 weeks.

Yerlikaya's post is as follows:

"In the 'Kalkan-28' operations conducted against Migrant Smuggling Organizers and Irregular Migrants in 41 provinces over the last 2 weeks; 257 suspected migrant smuggling organizers were apprehended, 59 were arrested, and judicial control decisions were issued for 22 of them. Judicial proceedings for the others are ongoing.

In 2024, we have conducted a total of 6,339 operations against Migrant Smuggling Organizers. Following these operations; 3,924 migrant smugglers were arrested, and judicial control decisions were issued for 1,693 of them.

Combating irregular migration is among the primary issues worldwide. As in all areas of migration management, we take law, human rights, and our civilizational values as a reference in all processes of combating irregular migration and migrant smuggling, as well as deportation procedures.

We never give an opportunity to human traffickers who try to make our country a target and a transit route for irregular migration by engaging in human smuggling. We continue our operations with determination in every region of our country.

The Kalkan-28 operations were conducted in Istanbul, Izmir, Adana, Mugla, Canakkale, Edirne, Nevsehir, Van, Erzurum, Kocaeli, Konya, Agri, Hatay, Kirklareli, Tekirdag, Aydin, Bursa, Denizli, Erzincan, Gaziantep, Hakkari, Kayseri, Samsun, Batman, Afyonkarahisar, Ankara, Antalya, Balikesir, Bingol, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Eskisehir, Manisa, Mus, Rize, Siirt, Trabzon, Sanliurfa, Sirnak, Yalova, and Kilis, under the coordination of the Chief Public Prosecutor's Offices, the General Directorate of Security's Department of Combating Migrant Smuggling and Border Gates, and the Presidency of Migration Management, by the Provincial Police Departments' Branches for Combating Migrant Smuggling and Border Gates.

I congratulate our Chief Public Prosecutor's Offices that coordinated the operations, our Heroic Police officers who carried out the operations, and the personnel of our Presidency of Migration Management. May God protect you. Our nation's prayers are with you."