Bonzai spreads across Istanbul since 2011

ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency

The total number of detained suspects was 5,026 in the first half of 2014.

Synthetic drug “bonzai” has been rapidly increasing in Turkey since 2011, and Istanbul tops the list with the highest number of users, according to new police data.

The majority of police narcotics operations have taken place in Istanbul, with 3,692 operations being taken against “bonzai” in the first six months of 2014, according to data released by the police department.

In 2011, only 17 operations were staged against bonzai, rising to 3,044 in 2012 and 8,885 in 2014.

The number of suspects detained in Istanbul as part of operations against bonzai was 200 in 2011, increasing to 4,597 in 2012 and 11,558 in 2013. The total number of detained suspects was 5,026 in the first half of 2014.

A majority of the bonzai was seized in the Bakırköy, Küçükçekmece and Pendik districts of Istanbul in 2011, before spreading to the Fatih, Üsküdar, Başakşehir and Beyoğlu districts in 2012. Maltepe, Güngören and Beylikdüzü joined the list of prime districts for bonzai in 2013, while it has spread to the Fatih, Kadıköy and Bahçelievler districts in 2014.

A total of 94.4 kilograms of bonzai has been seized by police in Fatih since 2011, while this number is 49.3 kilograms in Üsküdar and 49.9 kilograms in Bakırköy, according to the data.