Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu announced on Monday that 250 kilograms (551 pounds) of heroin and 35 kilograms of methamphetamine were seized in a counter-narcotics operation in the southeastern province of Hakkari.
Soylu tweeted that the seizure was result of an operation by gendarmerie forces in a village in Hakkari’s Yüksekova district. “We continue our struggle against those trying to lure our youth to drugs,” he said.
Though the minister did not specify whether the seizure was linked to the terrorist group PKK, earlier operations in the same region had dealt a blow to group’s drug trade activities. Hakkari lies on the border with Iraq, where PKK members are holed up in the country's northern region, and Iran.
Turkey has tried to shed its image as a transit country between Europe and Asia for drug smugglers. Authorities stepped up counter-narcotics operations in recent years to stop trafficking, which often involve “organic” drugs smuggled into Europe from Asia and “synthethic” drugs smuggled into the Middle East and Asia. Turkey is also battling the domestic use of drugs.
Last month, more than 18,000 counter-narcotics operations were conducted across the country, according to Interior Ministry data, while 24,202 suspects were detained. More than 2 tons of cannabis, 793 kilos of heroin, 208 kilos of methamphetamine, 83 kilos of skunk, a genetically modified or hybrid strain of cannabis, 71 kilos of cannabinoid and 6 kilos of cocaine were seized in operations in January. Security forces also seized 33,781 ecstasy pills and 252,236 captagon pills in the same period.
