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The Turkish police have seized the third largest amount of cocaine in the history of the country, announced the Minister of the Interior, Ali Yerlikaya.
Groups that monitor organized crime warned that Turkey was becoming an entry point for drugs reaching Europe.
It is learned that the authorities have seized approximately 608 kg of cocaine, most of it in liquid form. According to the minister, narcotics were confiscated in an operation in three provinces, and about 830 kg of chemical precursors used for drug processing were also seized.
Yerlikaya said the police operation targeted an international gang allegedly led by a Lebanese-Venezuelan national who was among four foreign members of the banned organized crime group, along with nine Turks.
"The amount of cocaine seized in the operation ... was the third largest amount of cocaine seized at one time in Turkey," the minister said.
Organized crime watchdogs say Turkey is growing as a transit hub for cocaine coming from South America to Europe, as security at ports such as Rotterdam in the Netherlands tightens.
In a report dated October last year, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime said that a 44% increase in cocaine seizures in Turkey between 2021 and 2022 was not reflected in domestic consumption data, "suggesting that the country is likely to serve as a corridor for drug trafficking".
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