“On 17 December 2020 at 04.02 a.m., it was reported that there was a group of irregular migrants on an inflatable boat off the coast of Izmir’s Sığacık district. The sailing inflatable boat was intercepted and 175 irregular migrants and 1 human trafficker were apprehended by CG boat,” the statement said.

Turkey has traditionally been a major transit port for irregular immigrants to enter the European countries.

According to the official reports, 454,662 irregular migrants held across the country in 2019. (ILKHA)