Major drug bust: Over 1 ton narcotics seized, 103 dealers apprehended

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that in the “Narkocelik-29” operations conducted across 17 provinces, authorities seized 1.36 ton of narcotics, 9.25 million cannabis and skunk plants and 4,481 drug pills. Additionally, 103 drug dealers were apprehended.

In a statement on social media, Yerlikaya detailed that the operations were coordinated by the Gendarmerie General Command’s Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Department and involved teams from the provincial gendarmerie commands in Adana, Antalya, Aydin, Bingol, Diyarbakir, Edirne, Erzurum, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Konya, Kilis, Malatya, Ordu, Sakarya, Samsun, Siirt and Van.

‘We are determined’

Out of the 103 drug dealers taken into custody, 45 were arrested, while 36 were released under judicial control. Yerlikaya emphasized, “We are determined to rid our country of drug traffickers and street dealers. I commend our heroic Gendarmerie for carrying out these operations.”