Turkey catches illegal migrants

An estimated 400,000 people a year enter the EU illegally

By Chris Morris in Ankara

Turkish security forces have detained 99 people trying to leave the country illegally and gain entry to the European Union.

They were all detained near the Turkish border with Greece where hundreds of arrests are made every week.

The Italian Government has called on Turkey and Greece to do more to prevent the smuggling trade after more than 400 migrants arrived by boat in southern Italy on Sunday.

This is the smuggling season when warm weather and calm seas tempt thousands of people to try their luck on the route to Europe.

Thousands of dollars

Some try to wade across the Meric River which separates Turkey and Greece, others clamber into small boats which set off under cover of darkness for the Greek islands.

The trafficking of people is said to be as profitable as drugs

Nearly all the would-be migrants have paid thousands of dollars to highly organised smuggling gangs.

The latest group to be captured includes Iranians, Iraqis, Afghans and Palestinians - the majority are probably ethnic Kurds.

So far this year, more than 5,000 people have been detained by the Turkish security forces but no one knows how many have evaded capture and made it into the European Union.

The Italian Government wants Turkey and Greece to tighten control over illegal immigration but the Turkish authorities say their forces are already stretched to the limit.

There is so much money to be made for the smugglers and so many people willing to risk a journey into the unknown to escape economic hardship or political persecution.

There are no easy answers.