UPDATE - Turkish police seize over 105 kg of heroin

UPDATES DECK, LEDE AND ONE MORE OPERATION

By Necat Hazar, Zekeriya Karadavut, Mustafa Gungor and Turgay Konuralp

VAN / AKSARAY / IZMIR, Turkey (AA) – Turkish security forces seized over 105 kilograms (231 pounds) of heroin, 109 kg (240 lbs.) of marijuana, and 3,967 cannabis roots in nationwide raids, officials said Monday.

Aided by a sniffer dog, a total of 56.4 kg (124 lbs.) of heroin was found in packages hidden inside the trunk of a car abandoned in Tusba in the eastern Van province.

Separately, police seized 49.8 kg (109 lbs.) of heroin in the Aksaray province.

Anti-narcotics officers stopped a car on the Adana-Aksaray highway and found 94 packages of heroin inside the trunk.

After arresting the driver, identified only by the initials R.A., police expanded the operation and arrested three more suspects.

A local court later remanded the suspects in custody.

Meanwhile, in the Aegean Izmir province, local gendarmerie command teams seized 109 kg (240 lbs.) of marijuana and 3,967 cannabis roots.

In drone-assisted operations, four suspects also were arrested for drug smuggling.

Turkey’s ongoing crackdown on drugs has helped it fight narco-terrorism, or profits from the illegal drug trade funding terrorist groups such as the PKK.