UPDATE - Nearly 150 kilograms of heroin seized in eastern Turkey

UPDATE INCLUDES NEW DRUG SEIZURES, NEW ARRESTS

By Necat Hazar

VAN/AGRI/SAMSUN/ANTALYA/AYDIN, Turkey (AA) - Security forces seized nearly 150 kilograms of heroin in Friday's anti-drug operations in eastern Turkey.

Anti-narcotics police previously seized 105.2 kilograms (231.9 pounds) of heroin in eastern Van province, a police source said.

Police had stopped a suspicious van in Edremit district and found heroin in the trunk of the vehicle, the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media, said.

The vehicle’s driver, identified by the initials H.A., was arrested for drug trade and transportation of drugs.

In a separate operation, gendarmes recovered 37 kilograms (81.5 pounds) of heroin in the other eastern province of Agri.

The Governor's Office of Agri said gendarmes carried out an operation in a village in Dogubayazit district and seized drugs packed in bags.

Also, police arrested 26 suspects during operations in three Black Sea provinces of Samsun, Giresun and Amasya.

In the simultaneous operations, police held 6,351 pills, two unlicensed pistols, shotguns and a great number of bullets.

In the other operation in Mediterranean province of Antalya, police seized 18.9 kilograms (41.6 pounds) of cannabis and arrested four suspects.

Meanwhile, in western Aydin province, gendarmes also recovered 312 cannabis roots in rural area. It is reported that their length was nearly four meters (13.1 feet); a suspect was arrested.