Over 131 kilograms of illicit drugs seized in Turkey

By Halis Akyildiz, Yilmaz Kazandioglu, Mehmet Akif Parlak, and Yeter Erdine

ISTANBUL/VAN/GAZIANTEP/MALATYA, Turkey (AA) – Over 131 kilograms (288.8 pounds) of various illicit drugs have been seized Friday in anti-narcotic operations across Turkey, according to security officials.

In the Turkish metropolitan city of Istanbul, 88 kg (194 Ibs) of cocaine was seized in secret parts of two containers in an operation carried out in the port of Ambarli, said a security source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The containers, which were loaded with bananas and came from South American countries, were sent to X-ray machines which detected suspected intensity inside them.

Sniffer dogs then searched through the containers and detected the drugs hidden behind inner wall of one of the containers, while in the second container, the drugs were hidden inside the cooling system.

In the eastern Van province, a total of 28.7 kg (63.2 Ibs) of heroin was found hidden inside a bag of dried apples in a truck with the help of a sniffer dog, Sila, said the provincial security directorate.

During the operation against drug trade, the driver -- identified by the initials B.A. -- of the truck was also arrested in the Tusba district, it added.

In the southeastern Gaziantep province, a sniffer dog, Oscar, found 4.5 kg (9.9 Ibs) of drugs in his first mission, said a security source on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Oscar found the drugs in a passenger bus stopped by gendarmerie forces on Gaziantep-Sanliurfa highway.

Three passengers, including a woman, were arrested.

Separately, in the eastern Malatya province, nearly 10 kg (22 Ibs) of marijuana was seized in two passenger buses, according to a statement by the provincial security directorate.

In one of those buses, anti-smuggling teams of the police seized 7.5 kg (16.5 Ibs) of marijuana from a bag belonging to suspect M.G.C., who was arrested.

Anti-narcotic teams also stopped another passenger bus and found nearly 2.4 kg (5.3 Ibs) of powdered marijuana.

A suspect, identified by the initials K.U., was arrested.

* Writing by Sena Guler in Ankara.