Istanbul school bus driver caught high on synthetic drug

ISTANBUL

A school bus driver was caught and detained in his vehicle on charges of consuming bonzai, a type of deadly synthetic drug, in Istanbul’s Ataşehir district on Oct. 11 during an inspection.

The driver was high off the drug and could hardly stand when law enforcement officials inspected the parked school bus to find he had bonsai on him, daily Habertürk reported.

The Mobile School Unit (MOT), which looks out for criminals outside schools, found a tiny amount of bonzai on the driver’s seat while running regular inspections.

The 32-year-old bus driver, identified as Servet G., was detained immediately and was suspended from his job.

The driver reportedly had a criminal record with the police for consuming drugs, but since he was not convicted, this record was not included in his list of priors, which can be retrieved from the prosecutor’s office. Therefore, the list of priors he had submitted when he had applied was clean.

The spread of the cheap and easily accessible synthetic drug has killed many young people in recent years, with official figures indicating the usage had increased every year.

“Bonzai is the drug that sells the most in the [Bayramtepe] neighborhood [of Istanbul]. Then comes heroin. Drugs have even made their way to primary schools. Anyone who pays two Turkish Liras can buy a one-off use of bonzai. They end up suffering heart attacks. We are taking our children off the streets,” said Yılmaz Macit, a photographer who lives in Bayramtepe, on June 24, 2014.