Drugs recovered from electronic keyboard at Istanbul Airport
The keyboard and drugs that were seized at Istanbul Airport, Türkiye, May 18, 2023. (DHA Photo)


Istanbul Airport customs officers seized drugs weighing a total of 7.6 kilograms (16.7 pounds) and detained five suspects in anti-narcotics operations.

The customs team tracked the baggage as part of risk analysis and targeted studies and found an additional cache beneath a bag. Following the removal of the stash, a powdery substance was seized that turned out to be cocaine. The drugs seized from the bag weighed 1.2 kilograms.

Another foreign national's luggage contained an electronic keyboard in which teams discovered 3,800 Captagon tablets weighing 640 grams stashed in the instrument.

In addition, 2.4 kilograms of cannabis were recovered from the passenger's suitcase and backpack.

Customs Enforcement Narko KM personnel also found 3.6 kilograms of methamphetamine laced with pieces of cloth in the luggage.

Trained sniffer dogs played an important role in the successful operations.