37 tonnes of cannabis seized in Diyarbakır in 10 months, 460 remanded
Diyarbakır Governor Hasan Basri Güzeloğlu said 2,110 operations in the first ten months of 2018 caught 2,374 suspects, of whom 460 were remanded in pre-trial detention. Officers seized 37,293.994 kg of esrar, the cannabis preparation known in Turkey, and 3,016,747 hemp plants, along with heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and 40,122 synthetic pills.
Diyarbakır Governor Hasan Basri Güzeloğlu announced the results at a meeting of
the provincial addiction commission on 8 November 2018.[1]He said 2,110
operations in Diyarbakır in the first ten months of 2018 caught 2,374 suspects,
of whom 460 were remanded in pre-trial detention.[2]
The operations seized37,293.994 kg of esrar, the cannabis preparation known in
Turkey, including 14,525.784 kg of kubar (bud) and 22,768.209 kg of toz
(powdered cannabis).[1]Officers also seized 3,016,747 hemp plants.[1]The
same operations yielded 89 kg16 g of heroin, 539 g of cocaine, 9 kg147 g of
methamphetamine and 40,122 synthetic pills.[2]Weapons, ammunition and cash
believed to be used in the drug trade were also confiscated, the governor said.[1]
Güzeloğlu linked the trade to the PKK, saying terrorist organisations took most
of their income from drug smuggling.[1]He said the fight against drugs
continued alongside the fight against militancy.[1]He noted that the National
Board for Combating Addiction had been set up under a presidential directive
published in the Official Gazette, and that state institutions and civil society
organisations were working on the issue.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
The figures cover January–October 2018; 8 November 2018 is the date of the governor's announcement, not a single operation or raid.
The governor also said the provincial agriculture and forestry directorate destroyed 2,960,000 hemp plants, and the reports do not say whether these are included in the 3,016,747 plants counted in the operations.
The stated components, 14,525.784 kg of kubar and 22,768.209 kg of toz, add up to 37,293.993 kg, one gram less than the 37,293.994 kg total given.
No suspect is named, and the reports do not say what charges the 460 remanded face or when their cases will be heard.
Haber7's report is credited to Anadolu Agency and repeats its text, so the two accounts are not independent reporting.
The heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and synthetic pills are not cannabis and are not counted in kg_seized.
No photograph of the operations was published with the announcement; the only image on the Haber7 page was a placeholder.
Customs officers at the Esendere border gate in Hakkari stopped a Turkish traveller arriving from Iran and found 49.56 grams of suspected cannabis hidden in his shoe soles. The Yüksekova Chief Public Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation into the seizure.
Gendarmerie teams in Odunpazarı, Eskişehir, searched a home following an investigation into illicit drug production and seized 310 grams of esrar and six cannabis plants. One suspect was detained and faces investigation for drug possession and unlawful cannabis cultivation.
Nevşehir anti-narcotics police placed 14 people under judicial proceedings after a week of operations, including 12 reported drug users and two accused of violating Law No. 2313. Officers seized a cannabis-growing setup, 11 cannabis seeds and 1.62 grams of kubar esrar alongside methamphetamine, synthetic cannabinoids and pills that are not counted as cannabis.
Gaziantep anti-narcotics police searched a car in the city and seized 12 kilograms of skunk, a form of cannabis, detaining one suspect. The operation, coordinated by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, targeted drug sellers, and the suspect was referred to the judicial authorities.
