Turkey: Smuggling bids worth $84.5M blocked

Smuggling worth $38M occurred in southern Mersin province, followed by Istanbul at $34M

By Huseyin Karatepe

ANKARA (AA) - Smuggling bids worth $84.5 million were prevented during operations conducted last month, the Customs and Trade Ministry officials said Wednesday.

Also, in nationwide operations carried out in March, customs officials uncovered 391 smuggling cases and confiscated 89 vehicles used for this purpose.

A large number of drugs, cigarettes, electronic goods and clothing were seized during these operations.

Most smuggling in Turkey -- worth $38 million -- occurred in the southern port city of Mersin, followed by Istanbul at $34 million.

Sniffer dogs discovered 20 tons of drugs, 11 million of synthetic drugs, 22.1 million packs of cigarettes, and 43 tons of tea.

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