Police seize over 5 tons of marijuana in SE Turkey

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey

Police in southeastern Turkey seized over five tons of marijuana in anti-terror operations on Friday, officials said.

Police in Diyarbakir province seized 5,038 kilograms (11,107 pounds) of marijuana, 5,560 root cannabis and ammunition as part of Turkey’s Operation Kiran, local authorities said in a statement.

Police also destroyed two shelters and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

On Aug. 17, Turkey launched Operation Kiran in the country's southeast against YPG/PKK terrorists in Van, Hakkari and Sirnak provinces, followed by the launch of Operation Kiran-2 on Aug. 27 in Mardin, Sirnak and Batman provinces. Four more iterations of the operation followed, including Operation Kiran-6, launched on Wednesday.

The PKK has reportedly financed its terrorist activities through the illegal drug trade since as early as the 1980s, with Interpol estimating up to 80% of the European illicit drug markets being supplied by PKK-controlled trafficking networks.

Turkish authorities have been confiscating narcotics shipments owned or operated by the PKK since the 1980s.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.

*Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur