Trade Ministry Customs Enforcement teams carried out four separate operations at the Kapıkule, Hamzabeyli and İpsala border gates and Istanbul Airport.[1] The accounts say only that investigations are continuing before the Edirne, Gaziosmanpaşa and İpsala chief public prosecutor’s offices, without naming any suspects.[1] The reports call the cannabis seized in the three border operations ‘esrar’.[1]
At Kapıkule, a detailed search of a vehicle’s fuel tank after an X-ray found 118.658 kg of cocaine in 109 packages and 25.744 kg of esrar in 32 packages.[1] At Hamzabeyli, detector dogs Yappa and Atlas reacted to a truck’s fuel tank, where officers found 81.134 kg of esrar in 85 packages.[2] At İpsala, controls with detector dog İda after suspicious density on the X-ray led to a detailed search that found 219.063 kg of esrar in 200 packages.[1] At Istanbul Airport, controls of the luggage of three incoming passengers found a total of 15 kg of heroin.[2] The ministry put all drugs seized in the four operations at 459.599 kg, with the cannabis component stated as 325.941 kg of esrar.[2]
Officers selected the vehicles through risk-analysis and targeting work and acted on suspicious density seen in fuel-tank X-rays.[1] The ministry said its fight against smuggling continues around the clock on land, at sea and in the air with technology, risk analysis and specialist staff.[1]
