Turkey detained around 166 undocumented migrants travelling from Greece via Edirne to western Turkey out of which 115 are noted to be Pakistanis.
The Pakistani nationals were held in the Catalca district after Turkish security forces were tipped off that the group was planning to cross Turkey, a private news channel reported.
Forces also arrested six Turkish nationals and a 17-year-old Pakistani over reportedly being organisers of the voyage and taking $1,500 from each migrant. The suspects were later remanded by a court.
Police stopped four minibuses at different times and held undocumented migrants, who reportedly came to Turkey via Iran and had been staying in Istanbul’s central Aksaray district for around a month.
Earlier on Thursday, in Turkey’s southern province of Hatay, 17 undocumented migrants were held, the security source said. The migrants were found after they crossed into Hatay’s Yayladagı district from Syria.
All the migrants were Syrian nationals, according to the source.
Turkey has been the main route for migrants trying to cross into Europe, especially since the beginning of the civil war in Syria.
