Turkish police seized 541 tubes of snake venom in Istanbul Wednesday, according to a security source.
Anti-smuggling teams of the Istanbul Security Directorate launched an operation after they learned that two suspects were trying to sell smuggled cobra venom to some pharmaceutical companies, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
After electronic and physical surveillance, the suspects, identified by the initials C.C. and E.D., were arrested at an address in the Gungoren district on March 20, the source added. A laboratory test confirmed that the confiscated liquid substance was cobra venom.