159 illegal immigrants detained in Turkey

Turkish police on Thursday detained four suspected human traffickers and 159 illegal migrants in Istanbul as well as the nearby northwestern province of Kocaeli, reported Xinhua.

The Istanbul Governor's Office said in a written statement that 47 undocumented migrants were detained in the basement of an apartment building in the Bagcilar district on the European side of the largest Turkish city.

It noted that two people who were believed to help the migrants were detained.

Meanwhile, the Kocaeli provincial police department stopped a truck carrying illegal immigrants on a highway, the Cumhuriyet daily reported.

The police reportedly caught 112 undocumented migrants riding on the truck, and arrested two suspected human traffickers.

Turkey, a key transit point for illegal migrants seeking to go to Europe for a better life, hosts more than 4 million refugees, including 3.6 million Syrians.