Over 170 kg of marijuana seized in Turkey

By Aydin Arikj

BINGOL, Turkey

Turkish security forces seized over 170 kilogram of marijuana in nationwide anti-drug operations Wednesday, local authorities said.

In eastern Bingol province, over 158 kilograms (348 pounds) of marijuana and 130 cannabis root plants were seized in Genc district, the provincial governor’s office said in a statement.

Meanwhile, police confiscated over 15 kg (33 Ibs.) of powdered marijuana in a van in the Mediterranean province of Antalya's Demre district, said a security source who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

A provincial court remanded the van driver into custody over drug trafficking, the source added.

In eastern Van province, more than 13 kg (28 Ibs.) of heroin was confiscated in a house in Ipekyolu district, according to a security directorate statement.

Police arrested the householder on charges of drug trafficking, it added.

Separately, police also seized a total of 48,000 packages of smuggled cigarettes during nationwide contraband operations.

In Edremit district of Van, 6,000 packages of smuggled cigarettes were seized during a road patrol in Kurubas neighborhood, the provincial gendarmerie command said.

The driver and another suspect in the vehicle were arrested, it added.

Also in Van’s Ercis district, 15,000 packages of smuggled cigarettes were found hidden in two minibuses’ bonnets, the province’s security directorate said in a statement.

A Van court remanded three suspects into custody, it added.

In Istanbul province, security forces seized 27,000 packages of smuggled cigarettes when they raided an address in Fatih district.

Four suspects were arrested for drug trafficking.

*Necat Hazar in Van, Mehmet Cakmak in Antalya, Halil Demir in Istanbul contributed to this story