In a significant operation against international migrant smuggling and human trafficking, Istanbul police dismantled a network operating on the Afghanistan-Pakistan-Iran-Türkiye-Europe route. The network was accused of capturing illegal immigrants, robbing them at gunpoint, taking them hostage, and extorting large ransoms from their families.
According to police intelligence, the smuggling network used Türkiye as a transit point for irregular migrants from Asia and the Middle East to Europe. The Istanbul Anti-Immigrant Smuggling and Border Crossings Branch Directorate uncovered the network’s activities and identified a house in Fatih where armed suspects were holding hostages. Following extensive surveillance, the police, with the support of special operations teams, conducted a raid on the house on Monday.
The operation, carried out with a search warrant for urgent cases, resulted in the arrest of the suspects and the liberation of the hostages. The investigation continues under the supervision of the public prosecutor.
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Sadık Kahraman
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