62 tons of drugs seized in eight months in Turkey: Ministry

ANKARA

Security forces seized 62 tons and 83 kilograms of drugs in operations in the first eight months of this year, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Sept. 11.

A total of 94,853 anti-drug operations have been conducted between January and August, the statement said, adding that this number was 27 percent higher than the same period of last year.

A total of 132,710 people were detained in the operations, 14,964 of whom were arrested. When compared to last year’s data, these figures were, respectively, 27 percent and 8 percent higher this year.

12 tons of heroin seized

The amount of heroin seized in these operations increased by 53 percent compared to the same period of last year, reaching 11 tons and 983 kilograms, the statement said.

In August only, around two tons of heroin were seized, marking an increase of 426 percent compared to July.

In August, the total of amount of drugs seized was approximately 5.2 tons, the ministry said in the statement.