ISTANBUL, June 24 (Xinhua) -- At least 314 refugees trying to illegally cross into Europe have been detained in Turkey's western province of Izmir since last week, local media reported on Friday.

Demiroren News Agency (DHA) said five individuals in charge of organizing the crossings were also arrested.

Refugees, who hailed from countries such as Liberia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somali, Yemen, Palestine, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, were transported to a refugee processing center in Izmir.

DHA also reported on the same day that 272 illegal migrants from Afghanistan were taken to a deportation center in the northwestern city of Kocaeli.

It noted that 136 of them were immediately taken to the airport under strict security measures, and were deported back to Afghanistan via charter flights.

More than 37,000 undocumented refugees were deported back to their respective countries since the beginning of the year, with an increase of 89 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency.

Amongst the deported, more than 20,000 were coming from Afghanistan and were deported back via flights, Anadolu stated.

According to the Turkish Interior Ministry, over 24,000 refugees from 89 countries are still being held in processing centers, waiting for deportation.

Turkey is home to some 4 million refugees, including 3.6 million Syrians, according to official figures. However, experts believe the number is much higher when considering undocumented migrants. Enditem

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