64 migrants caught off Turkey’s touristic Kuşadası

AYDIN

A total of 64 migrants were caught on a plastic boat off the touristic town of Kuşadası in the Aegean province of Aydın.

A Coast Guard Command plane determined a boat full of migrants off the Davutlar district at around 6 a.m. on Sept. 24. 

A coast guard boat was then sent to the area and police apprehended a total of 64 migrants, of whom 39 were Syrians, 18 Afghans, six Somalis and one Lebanese. 

Some 25 children were with 19 men and 20 women caught, who were planning to cross into Greece’s Samos Island ilegally. 

They were later delivered to the Interior Ministry’s Directorate General of Migration Management after their testimonies were taken. 

Another 64 migrants were apprehended in separate operations in the northwestern province of Kırklareli. 
The migrants, mostly Afghans, Syrians and Pakistanis, were planning to cross into Bulgaria illegally before being caught. 

Seven Syrians, who were apprehended during gendarmerie patrols in Demirköy-Sislioba village, said they were beaten up by Bulgarian police while attempting to cross the border and their objects were seized by the Bulgarian authorities. 

A total of 24 Syrians caught in another village, meanwhile, said they managed to cross the border, but were caught and sent back to Turkey after their valuables were confiscated.