Turkey: More than 6M cannabis roots seized

By Mehmet Sah Yilmaz

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (AA) - Turkish security forces on Wednesday seized more than 6 million cannabis roots and 530 kilograms of cannabis in 41 separate locations in southeastern Turkey.

The seizure took place as part of a gendarmerie operation in Lice and Hazro, in the province of Diyarbakir, to halt illegal drug trafficking by the terrorist group PKK and bring the perpetrators to justice, said the governorship in a statement.

The seized marijuana was preserved and cannabis plants destroyed on-site along with other materials, the statement added.

The cannabis was the largest amount seized in a single operation in the country in recent years.

Separately, in an operation in Turkey's Mediterranean province of Mersin, 83 kg of cocaine were seized on a ship carrying bananas.

With the help of a drug-sniffing dog, a provincial narcotics team searched the ship, which came from Colombia, and made the seizure.

This July, law enforcement agencies seized 13.2 million cannabis roots in the Diyarbakir province.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.