Drugs

Seizure of Over Half Ton Drugs by Turkish Customs Enforcement Teams

A total of 540 kilograms of cocaine were seized in a container in a port during the operation carried out by the Customs Enforcement teams of the Ministry of Commerce in Kocaeli.

Within the scope of the efforts to combat drug trafficking carried out by the General Directorate of Customs Enforcement, risk analysis was carried out through the information systems used by the Ministry. According to the analysis, 6 containers coming from Brazil to a port in Kocaeli were considered risky. As a result of the investigation, the instruction to check the containers with suspicion of drug trafficking was conveyed to Kocaeli Customs Protection, Smuggling and Intelligence Directorate and the button was pressed for the operation.

After the ship carrying the suspicious containers approached the port, the crews waiting ready at the port took the necessary precautions and the containers were opened after the evacuation. In the searches, which included narcotic detector dogs, it was determined that black bags were hidden in sacks loaded with ferro-chrome type goods inside the containers.

A total of 20 bags stored in sacks were removed from where they were found. The powdered substance was found, packaged in open-search bags. The substance in question was found to be cocaine in the analysis made with a drug test device.

As a result of the historical operation, 540 kilograms of cocaine drugs, worth approximately 216 million liras, were seized in a total of 500 packages. The amount of drugs seized was the largest single single cocaine seizure in the history of the Turkish Customs Enforcement Agency, so poison dealers were not allowed to pass.

The investigation into the incident is being conducted by the Gebze Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.