“Kalkan-8” operation against migrant smugglers in 2 provinces: 37 detained

Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya, in a statement on his social media account, stated that 37 migrant smuggling organizers were captured in the “Kalkan-8” operations carried out against migrant smuggling organizers in Şanlıurfa and Adana, and used the expression, "We will never give an opportunity to human traffickers who deceive people by trading on hope, drag thousands of people to death on migration routes, and try to make our country a target and transit route for irregular migration."

Minister Yerlikaya shared the following information regarding the operations:

"Under the coordination of the General Directorate of Security's Department of Combating Migrant Smuggling and Border Gates; as a result of the work carried out by the Şanlıurfa Branch of Combating Migrant Smuggling and Border Gates and the Intelligence Branch, the “Kalkan-8” operation was organized at 18 separate addresses in Şanlıurfa and Adana with the participation of 48 teams, 10 special operations units, and 199 personnel.
As a result of the operations; thermal cameras and large amounts of foreign currency and Turkish Lira were seized. I congratulate our heroic police officers who organized the operations. May God protect them. Our fight against migrant smuggling will continue without interruption with determination and resolve."

#Şanlıurfa and #Adana’da Göçmen Kaçakçılığı Organizatörlerine yönelik gerçekleştirilen “KALKAN-8” Operasyonlarında 3??7?? Göçmen Kaçakçılığı Organizatörü Yakalandı??

Umut Tacirliği Yaparak İnsanları Kandıran, Binlerce İnsanı Göç Yollarında Ölüme Sürükleyen, Ülkemizi Düzensiz Göçün… pic.twitter.com/0ewbQhT2x9

— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) January 20, 2024