Turkish police busted dozens of migrant smugglers in nationwide raids, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Monday.

In coordination with the directorates of migration and border gates, police detained 40 and arrested 37 suspects on charges of smuggling migrants in raids across 14 cities, Yerlikaya said via X.

Authorities captured 25 smugglers and 86 irregular migrants in raids in Istanbul and seven other provinces across Anatolia, the minister said.

In raids in southern Hatay province, seven smugglers were detained, four of whom were arrested, and 106 irregular migrants were caught.

In raids across the capital of Ankara, Bursa and three southern provinces, eight smugglers were arrested, the minister informed.

Authorities seized large amounts of cash in foreign currency, Yerlikaya said, noting that all migrants were delivered to provincial migration directorates for deportation to their home countries.

"Türkiye will never allow human traffickers who try to make it a transit route for irregular migration by smuggling people," Yerlikaya said.

Türkiye has been a key transit point for irregular migrants who want to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Every year, hundreds of thousands of migrants flee civil conflict or economic hardship in their home countries with the hope of reaching Europe.

Some migrants make the dangerous journey over land or sea with the assistance of smugglers, who often abandon them, especially during sea journeys, after receiving thousands of dollars from each migrant. Others are stopped by Turkish security forces before crossing the border into Europe.

In some cases, neighboring Greece is accused of pushing back migrants in a controversial practice. In the Aegean Sea, Greek coast guard boats often drive out approaching migrant boats to the Greek islands.

In the northwestern province of Edirne, several cases of similar "pushbacks" were documented in the past years. In some cases, migrants were found naked and bruised after what they claimed were beatings at the hands of Greek border officials who stripped them and forced migrants to march back to the Turkish side.

The latest statistics, between 2010 and 2023, show Türkiye rescued 184,175 irregular migrants from its seas after they put their lives in danger with the hope of reaching Europe. Some 923 migrants, on the other hand, ended up dead on perilous journeys in the same period, while 503 people remain unaccounted for after their boats sank.

Last year alone, 20 people died while traveling to nearby Greek islands from the Turkish coast. Eleven went missing as they strived to reach the islands in the Aegean Sea, while the Turkish Coast Guard Command saved 23,977 irregular migrants from certain death.

In 2023, authorities intercepted 254,000 irregular migrants and arrested 3,744 migrant smuggling organizers.

Türkiye, which already hosts 4 million refugees, more than any other country in the world, is taking new measures at its borders to prevent a fresh influx of migrants, balancing a humanitarian policy and the need to stop thousands from risking their lives.

As most irregular migrants try to infiltrate Türkiye through its eastern borders, the country recently began constructing a security wall. Authorities say 80% of the wall and a 1,234-kilometer (767-mile) patrolling strip next to the wall are completed, with the remaining section set to be completed within the year.

The Directorate of Migration set up "mobile migration points" to speed up the processing of irregular migrants. The migration points, the first of its kind in the world, help law enforcement in the field to check for irregular migrants.