The Diyarbakır provincial gendarmerie’s anti-smuggling and organised crime unit stopped a truck on the Lice–Diyarbakır highway on 18 February 2019.[1] Four people were taken into custody in the operation.[1] The unit acted on intelligence that a suspect had rented a vehicle to send drugs to Gaziantep.[1] Officers had identified the truck’s plate before the stop.[1] A narcotics dog alerted during a search at the roadside, and the truck was taken to the provincial gendarmerie command for a detailed inspection.[1]

Hidden among hay bales loaded in the truck, officers found 176 kg 340 g of kubar esrar, a cannabis product.[1] The Diyarbakır governor’s office said the drug was packed ready for sale.[2] It said the cannabis was seized and held on the public prosecutor’s instructions.[2]

The governor’s office said the operation was part of judicial and administrative work to protect public order, which it said would continue without interruption.[2] The names of the four suspects were not released.[3]