Security forces have seized almost 16 kilograms of powdered hashish in an anti-smuggling operation in western Turkey's Denizli province on Monday.

Acting on a tip-off, the provincial gendarmerie forces raided a property belonging to a suspect in the Denizler neighborhood of the Çal district.

The suspect identified as İ.A. was detained by the security forces while investigations regarding the smuggling incident were ongoing.

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

In 2014, the Turkish government launched "The Rapid Action Plan Against Drugs" to counter drug abuse and smuggling. Since then, Turkey has been fighting on multiple counter-narcotics fronts.

It targets addicts through better rehabilitation and awareness campaigns. It also targets smugglers and small-time dealers with more operations carried out by 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.