First drug bust at Istanbul Airport
ISTANBUL
Some five kilograms of heroin capsules have been seized in the first ever anti-narcotics operation in the newly-opened Istanbul Airport.
Nine Iranian suspects, who flew to Istanbul from Turkey’s southeastern province of Hakkari, were arrested by police, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on May 17.
The suspects were sent to a hospital for MR scan after nothing was found in the body search. The detected 350 capsules in the body of eight suspects were retrieved through defecation, according to the report.
Limited number of flights at the Istanbul Airport commenced on Oct. 31, 2018. Following the closure of the Istanbul Atatürk Airport on April 6, Istanbul Airport replaced it as the main airport of the metropolis.
In another operation on May 14, Istanbul police impounded 10 kilograms of cocaine that was smuggled from the Netherlands. Five suspects were arrested in the operation.
Meanwhile, police seized 180 kilograms of heroin, detaining five people, including 2 Iranian nationals in the northwestern province of Kocaeli.
