Turkish security forces Wednesday detained 18 suspects in relation to arms smuggling in an operation in eastern Turkey's Diyarbakır province.
The anti-smuggling units of the provincial security directorate conducted a simultaneous operation on 25 addresses in the Dicle and Ergani districts of Diyarbakır following a probe that lasted five months.
The suspects who made an unfair profit by marketing and supplying weapons to criminal organizations were identified.
The search in the suspects' homes and workplaces also revealed a number of guns and 780 packs of illegal cigarettes. Police seized long-barreled guns, 29 pistols, 47 magazines, 1561 cartridges of various diameters, 48 pistol grips and five gun boxes.
A separate simultaneous arms smuggling operation was also held in the eastern provinces of Van and Bitlis on Tuesday. One person was detained in an anti-smuggling operation carried out by units of the provincial security directorate. The security forces also seized four guns, two rifles, 64 cartridges, gun parts, a hunting knife, a drill, hammer and a vise, during the search of the suspect's house.
