Cocaine from Netherlands seized in Turkey’s Aegean region

EDREMİT

Customs officers have seized 298 grams of cocaine in a cargo package sent from the Netherlands to the Aegean district of Edremit.

The suspicious package, sent anonymously, was opened by customs officers in the northwestern province of Bursa, according to a statement by the governor’s office.

Officials in the Edremit district of the neighboring province of Balıkesir subsequently raided the house of the receiver but realized that the suspect had traveled to the U.S. on Dec. 28, 2017.

On Jan. 2 security forces confiscated more than 80 kilograms of hashish during separate operations carried out in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Speaking on Jan. 4, Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdağ said more drugs have been seized in Turkey than the whole of Europe, noting that much drug trafficking that generally starts in Afghanistan travels to Europe via Iran and Turkey.

“Another trafficking route that starts in the Netherlands and sometimes Belgium and Austria is also ending up in Turkey,” Akdağ told private broadcaster NTV.