59 detained for drug trafficking in Turkey; 1.2 tonnes narcotics seized

Ankara, July 23 (IANS) The police in Turkey have detained 59 suspects for manufacturing and trafficking drugs in operations across the country, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Tuesday.

The security forces seized more than 1.2 tonnes of narcotics, 13.6 million roots of hemp, and more than 2 million narcotic pills in raids across 16 provinces, Yerlikaya wrote on X, without specifying the time frame of the operations, Xinhua news agency reported.

The police teams carried out the raids with the support of aerial vehicles and narcotic detector dogs, he added.

"We are determined to rid our country of poison dealers and street vendors," Yerlikaya said.

Turkey, often used by illegal drug dealers as a transit hub, has ramped up its crackdown on drug smuggling since last year.

In mid-July, Turkish police detained 396 suspects for manufacturing and trafficking drugs in operations across the country, seizing more than 1.7 tonnes of narcotics and 1.18 million narcotic pills in raids carried out across 57 provinces.

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