Turkey holds over 1,300 terror suspects in one week

By Orhan Onur Gemici

ANKARA (AA) - More than 1,300 terror suspects were arrested in Turkey over the past seven days, the Interior Ministry said Monday.

Among them are 920 suspected members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO); of those, 45 were remanded in custody, said the statement.

Turkish government holds FETO responsible for the deadly July 2016 coup attempt.

Others included 386 PKK -- 32 remanded -- and 12 Daesh suspects.

Police also detained 12 other suspects over alleged links to a leftist terrorist group.

During the operations, the statement said, two terrorists were killed and seven captured. Another surrendered to security forces, it added.

In addition, the security forces destroyed 18 improvised explosive devices and 23 shelters as well as seizing 900 kilograms of explosive-making materials, 3 grenades and 25 weapons.

- Anti-drug operations

The security forces conducted 590 anti-drug operations in 72 provinces in an effort to curtail terrorist financing.

During the operations, the security officers seized various amounts of narcotic drugs including cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and opiates.

More than 688,000 packs of smuggled cigarettes and 138,000 liters (36,455 gallons) of smuggled oil were also seized.

The operations also saw the arrest of 806 suspects, 49 of whom were remanded in custody.

Meanwhile, 1,596 irregular migrants were captured over the past week including 324 at seas, while the police arrested 49 people on suspicion of organizing human trafficking: 30 were remanded in custody.