One ton of smuggled meat seized in Turkish border town

EDİRNE – Anadolu Agency

DHA photo

Turkish police seized over a ton of smuggled meat in the Enez district of the western province of Edirne bordering Greece on April 4, in the latest attempt to smuggle cheaper meat into the country.

A total of one ton and 310 kilograms of meat was seized as gendarmerie teams searched a truck driven by a man identified as H.U. in the Yeniceköy area upon a call. While H.U. was detained, the meat confirmed to be smuggled from Greece was taken to the district food and agriculture directorate.

Meat smuggling, which is often conducted through Edirne’s border towns, has largely been attributed to high prices in the Turkish food sector.

The Food and Agriculture Ministry decided in February to impose a price ceiling for red meat in a bid to control recent price hikes, which have also pushed up the inflation rate.

According to data from the Central Bank, meat prices rose by 21 percent in 2015 compared to the previous year, making meat one of the most prominent items pushing up the annual inflation rate.