Drugs worth over $6 mln seized in Istanbul port op

ISTANBUL

Law enforcement agencies have conducted a major drug bust at the Ambarlı port in Istanbul's Beylikdüzü district, resulting in the seizure of narcotics worth an estimated 180 million Turkish Liras ($6.6 million).

Customs enforcement teams initiated the operation on Sept. 19 when they uncovered a suspicious container destined for foreign shores.

Following an x-ray scan, a thorough inspection aided by a narcotics detection dog revealed 2.4 million captagon pills weighing a total of 424 kilograms.

An immediate investigation was launched by the prosecutor's office into the incident.

Simultaneously, in the western city of İzmir, police teams executed raids at 33 separate addresses, leading to the detention of 24 suspects. During the operations, authorities confiscated 11.5 kilograms of skunk marijuana, 147 grams of methamphetamine, three rifles, three pistols and 43 cartridges.

Further in the country's southeast, gendarmerie teams undertook a large-scale narco-terrorist operation in the rural area of Diyarbakır's Lice district, deploying 74 teams comprising 1,120 personnel.

The search conducted across 129 designated areas with the aid of six work machines and 30 motor scythes resulted in the seizure of over 2.1 tons of marijuana, 12.7 million cannabis roots and 755,100 skunk roots.

Additionally, authorities found precision scales and a hunting rifle during a house search of a 45-year-old suspect only identified by initials H.P. Legal proceedings against the detained suspect are ongoing, while the confiscated drugs were subsequently destroyed.