Police seize 670 kg of heroin in eastern Turkey

ANKARA / VAN- Anadolu Agency

Turkish police seized 670 kilograms (about 1,477 pounds) of heroin in the eastern Van province over the last five days, the country’s Interior Minister said on May 29.  

Süleyman Soylu lauded the efforts of the provincial police and anti-narcotics teams, saying the seizures were a heavy blow to the illicit drug trade.

“You save our youth, our future,” the minister said in a tweet.

In a statement on May 29, the Van police said 248.2 kg (around 547 pounds) of heroin were recovered and a suspect was arrested in an operation in the province’s Gürpınar district.

Anti-narcotics teams raided an identified address and found the drugs in a field not very far from the house of the suspect, identified only by the initials A.E.

A sniffer dog found 480 packets of heroin buried in the ground in eight sacks, the statement said.

Efforts against illicit drug trafficking, transport, and storage in the area continue, it added.