Turkish police have made the third largest cocaine seizure in the country’s history, Interior Minister Ali Yelikaya announced on Thursday, as organizations that monitor organized crime warned the country was becoming an entry point for drugs into Europe.
Yerlikaya posted on social media platform In addition, nearly 830 kilograms of precursor chemicals used in the processing of the drug were seized.
Yelikaya said the police operation targeted an international gang allegedly led by a Lebanese-Venezuelan citizen, who was one of four foreign members of the “organized crime group” detained, along with nine others Turks.
“The amount of cocaine seized in this operation is the third largest cocaine seizure in Turkish history,” the minister added.
Groups that monitor organized crime say Turkey is becoming a transshipment hub for cocaine from South America to Europe as security at ports such as Rotterdam in the Netherlands becomes tighter.
In a report last October, the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime said that a 44% increase in cocaine seizures in Turkey between 2021 and 2022 was not reflected in domestic consumption data, “suggesting that the country Likely to serve as a “drug” corridor. “
In 2021, Turkish officials made one of Turkey’s largest seizures – 1.1 tons of cocaine hidden in a shipment of bananas from Ecuador – in the Mediterranean port of Mersin.
Since taking office last June, Yelikaya has been responsible for overseeing Turkey’s crackdown on organized crime to counter claims that the country has become a haven for foreign gangs.
He regularly releases details of the latest police operations targeting drug dealers, fraudsters and other criminals.
Thursday’s social media post included a video overlaid with dramatic music showing apparent surveillance footage, large plastic containers and a stamping machine.
The operation was led by anti-drug officers based in Kocaeli, southeast of Istanbul, but also included investigations in Tekirdag, northwest of Istanbul, and in the Mediterranean province of Antalya.
According to Jelikaya, the gang used vineyards in Tekirdag and Antalya to store chemicals and process cocaine, which was disguised as fertilizer. Police also recovered a shotgun, he added.
“We will not tolerate drug traffickers, organized crime groups and gangs, whether domestic or international,” the minister wrote.
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