250 suspects nabbed in nationwide drug crackdown

ANKARA

More than 1 ton of drugs and 1 million drug pills have been seized and 250 individuals have been arrested during the nationwide crackdown against drug trafficking, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has announced.

In a statement shared on his social media account on April 2, Yerlikaya issued a stern warning to dealers that they would be "brought to justice to safeguard the nation’s youth."

The crackdown, dubbed "Narcosteel-10," comprising 46 operations conducted by the police and nine operations led by the gendarmerie, targeted both drug manufacturers and street-level dealers.

Yerlikaya underscored the coordinated efforts of law enforcement agencies, notably the police’s anti-narcotic teams, in orchestrating the operations.

The coordinated efforts of law enforcement agencies were executed with precision by provincial police directorates, involving the deployment of more than 600 teams, over 1,500 personnel and 35 narcotic detector dogs. These efforts spanned multiple provinces, including Istanbul, the capital Ankara and the western province of İzmir, in a concerted effort to curb the flow of illicit drugs across the country. Among the drugs seized were cannabis, heroin, morphine, cocaine and meth.

Provincial gendarmerie commands also launched raids in nine provinces – Hakkari, Istanbul, Van, Malatya, Bingöl, Afyonkarahisar, Samsun, Tekirdağ and Iğdır.