Assault rifles seized in passenger bus in Turkey’s İzmir

Banu Şen – İZMİR

Police teams in the Aegean province of İzmir detained three suspects and seized a number of assault rifles and bullets in a passenger bus on March 20.

The bus was stopped at a checkpoint in İzmir’s Kemalpaşa district as a part of a long-running operation conducted to track clandestine activities of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and to catch members or people with connections to the group.  

Police found five assault rifles including four Glock handguns, an Uzi gun, and a number of bullets during the bus search.

The Uzi is an Israeli-manufactured open-bolt, self-loading submachine gun, which is capable of firing hundreds of rounds a minute and is used especially in planned attacks. 

Police officials, who suspected the guns would be delivered to PKK militants, said the rifles were allegedly sent from the eastern provinces of Turkey.

Meanwhile, three suspects were detained by police and an investigation was launched into the incident.