The group, including 152 men, 45 women, and five children, has been detained at coastguard's Kedah state headquarters, Malaysian maritime enforcement agency says.
Turkey had earlier declared that it was closing down its six land and sea border crossings with Greece and Bulgaria in an effort to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Turkey announced in February it would no longer stop refugees and migrants from reaching Europe via land, while banning boat crossings as too dangerous, accusing the EU of failing to keep promises under the 2016 refugee deal.
“NATO is in a critical period in which it should clearly show the alliance’s solidarity [with Turkey],” President Erdogan told reporters during a press conference alongside NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg.
The national law enforcement agency said investigators found evidence that 11 speed boats carried a total of 269 people and more than 10,000 kilograms of hashish.
Riot-control police used tear gas and a water cannon to drive back people trying to cross the land border in the morning. The refugees and migrants were quick to sit peacefully in front of the gates, chanting "peace", "freedom" and "open the gates".
Asylum seekers speak from the no man's land between Turkey's Edirne and Greece's Kastanies, detailing the physical abuse and humiliation dealt by Greek border officials.
After regime attacks on Idlib displaced hundreds of thousands of Syrians towards Turkey, the country has opened its borders with Greece. TRT World is documenting the plight of the migrants who seek a new life in the EU. But does the EU want them?
Two children were found unconscious after a vessel overturned at 0630 GMT in the Aegean Sea, Greek police said. One of them, a small boy, could not be revived, while the other was taken to hospital.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the recent fighting around the Syrian rebel stronghold of Idlib "represents a serious threat to international peace and security."
Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said 47,113 migrants have departed Turkey via its northwestern border province of Edirne.
Far-right leader Matteo Salvini, the head of Italy's League party, who was serving as interior minister at the time, could eventually face up to 15 years in jail if found guilty.
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