UPDATE - Over 9M cannabis roots seized in southeastern Turkey

UPDATES WITH ADDITIONAL OPERATIONS

By Hasan Namli, Mehmet Akif Parlak and Esber Ayaydin

DIYARBAKIR/ GAZIANTEP / SANLIURFA, Turkey (AA) - Turkish security forces seized more than 9 million cannabis roots in an operation in the southeastern Diyarbakir province, local authorities said on Friday.

The local gendarmerie command successfully completed an operation against drug smugglers in the villages of Yalaza, Ortac, and Esenli in the Lice district, the Diyarbakir Governorship said in a statement.

As part of the operation, gendarmerie forces seized some 9.18 million cannabis roots in raids on 83 addresses, and around 1.18 tons of marijuana hidden in a rocky area, it added.

It stressed that operations will continue to ensure peace and security in the region.

Separately, some 18 suspects were detained in a drug operation in the southeastern Gaziantep province.

The suspects were held in an anti-narcotics raid, according to an announcement from the provincial police department.

The statement added that the suspects were accused of keeping and using drugs.

In the operation, security forces seized 60 grams of drugs, 165 drug pills, four pistols, five pistols with blanks, eight unlicensed rifles, and money believed to have come from drug sales.

Police in the southeastern Sanliurfa province also announced that they had remanded in custody 16 of 20 suspects detained in an anti-drug operation.

Raids were carried out in the province’s districts of Haliliye, Eyyubiye, Karakopru, and Siverek, said a police statement.

The raids seized 47 kilograms (104 pounds) of marijuana, 425 cannabis roots, as well as numerous synthetic drugs.

While 16 suspects referred to court were remanded on drug trafficking charges, the remaining four were released on bail.

* Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev and Gozde Bayar