Tons of bootleg alcohol seized across country

EDİRNE/ISTANBUL/BURSA

Turkish security forces have confiscated bootleg alcohol during targeted operations across the country in the runup to New Year’s Eve.

Different amounts of bootleg were seized in various provinces, but the security units found the biggest stash in three provinces.

More than nine tons of bootleg alcohol were seized in the northwestern province of Edirne, around 10 tons in the northwestern province of Bursa and nearly 2.5 tons in Istanbul.

A total of 38 suspects were detained during the operations in Edirne and eight were nabbed in Istanbul.

The police in Bursa raided a farmhouse in the Kestel district after a tipoff and seized around 10 tons of moonshine rakı and whiskey and around 1,500 bottles of wine.

A 50-year-old man has been detained, said the security officials.
The ranch house was converted into a bootleg production facility with fermentation tanks, taps, vaults and barracks, noted the officials.