At least 1,422 suspects were arrested in July in counter-narcotics operations, the Interior Ministry announced Friday.

Ministry officials in a monthly briefing said the law enforcement authorities launched more than 12,000 raids and detained 16,523 people in July.

More than 1 ton of heroin, 20 kilograms of cocaine and more than 1.4 million Captagon pills were seized in last month's counter-narcotics operations across Turkey. The authorities also seized more than 15 million cannabis plants.

Turkey, a transit country for drug smugglers working between Asia and Europe, is looking to curb domestic drug abuse.

In 2014, the Turkish government launched "The Rapid Action Plan against Drugs" to counter drug abuse and smuggling. Turkey has since been fighting narcotics on multiple fronts. It targets addicts through better rehabilitation and awareness campaigns. It also targets smugglers and small-time dealers with more operations carried out by the newly formed "narco teams" that especially focus on operations around schools and other places where the youth, the most vulnerable targets for drug peddlers, go.