More than 1000 fake life jackets made for migrants wanting to cross the Aegean Sea to Greece have been confiscated, Turkish police say.
Volunteers stand on a pile of lifejackets left behind by refugees and migrants who arrived to the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea. Photo: AFP
Officers raided a workshop in the port of Izmir, where they say they found life jackets stuffed with packaging rather than buoyancy aids.
More than one million migrants crossed the Mediterranean in 2015 and the vast majority went from Turkey to Greece.
Many migrants buy life jackets to help them survive the dinghy journey. A properly made jacket costs up to a £100, a BBC reporter in Istanbul said.
But many migrants made do with cheaper, badly made ones, which cost just £10 and may offer no protection whatsoever, the reporter said.
According to the UN, 3771 people were listed as dead or missing in 2015.
In Wednesday's raid the authorities seized 1263 life jackets that failed to correspond to safety standards, Turkey's Dogan news agency said. The workshop was in the centre of Izmir, a major hub for refugees and migrants.
Four people were found working in the workshop, including two young Syrian girls, the news agency said. It did not publish the girls' ages.
The confiscated life jackets had been sent to the local police for examination and an investigation had been launched.
It came one day after the bodies of more than 30 migrants were washed up in Turkey. Their boats capsized in bad weather on the way to the Greek island of Lesbos, authorities said.
Turkish media published harrowing images of the corpses, many still wearing life jackets that had apparently been of no use.
Migrants are continuing to arrive on the Greek islands every day, despite the wintry weather. Lesbos is by far the most popular destination for migrants leaving Turkey. More than 500,000 reached the island in 2015.
Late last year, Turkey reached a deal with the European Union to tighten its borders and reduce the numbers crossing to Greece in return for €3bn and political concessions.
-BBC
