A police spokesman said Saturday that the gang charged between 2,000 and 5,000 euros to migrants, mostly from Syria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Morocco, Togo, India, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Algeria and Nigeria.

As a result of the operation carried out in the city of Istanbul, humid, poorly ventilated shelters without the minimum standards of hygiene, in 55 makeshift homes, were dismantled, so some of these people suffer from diseases, he added.

The Istanbul immigration authorities said in a statement that so far this year 18,781 irregular immigrants have been detected in this city, adding that they numbered 71,959 in 2021.

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