Nearly 4,000 Arrested in Turkey for Human Trafficking

Turkey’s Interior Minister, Ali Yerlikaya, announced that 3,924 individuals have been arrested this year on human trafficking charges, Khaama Press reported yesterday.

In a recent statement, he highlighted ongoing operations across 41 cities that led to the detention of 257 human traffickers. Arrest warrants have been issued for 1,693 of those detained, although their identities remain undisclosed.

This crackdown coincides with a surge in the arrest and deportation of Afghan migrants from Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. Currently, over 300,000 Afghan migrants reside in Turkey, a situation exacerbated by the European Union’s $11 billion aid package to assist Turkey in managing migrant returns.

The intensified operations reflect Turkey’s struggle to balance humanitarian concerns with the pressures of its large migrant population, particularly amid rising illegal migration and human trafficking activities.