STORY: Türkiye detains 59 for drug trafficking, seizing over 1.2 tonnes of narcotics
SHOOTING TIME: July 23, 2024
DATELINE: July 23, 2024
LENGTH: 00:00:57
LOCATION: Ankara
CATEGORY: LAW

SHOTLIST:
1. various of 59 suspects detained by Turkish police for manufacturing and trafficking drugs (courtesy of Turkish Interior Ministry)

STORYLINE:

Turkish police detained 59 suspects for manufacturing and trafficking drugs in operations across the country, the country's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Tuesday.

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

The police teams carried out the raids with the participation of a 642 personnel, with the support of aerial vehicles and narcotic detector dogs, he said.

Türkiye, 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.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Ankara.
(XHTV)