The Trade Ministry’s customs enforcement officers seized 1.5 tons of hashish at the Ipsala Border Gate near the Turkish-Greek frontier on 28 December 2018.[1][2] The drugs were hidden in a truck transporting soybeans, and the ministry called it the largest single drug seizure in its history.[1][2]

Officers sent the vehicle for an X-ray scan after fieldwork and intelligence raised suspicion, then searched it physically when the scan looked wrong.[1] Aided by sniffer dogs, they found 152 ten-kilogram sacks of hashish disguised to match the appearance and weight of the soybean sacks.[1][2] The ministry put the hashish’s market value at around 40 million Turkish liras (about 7.6 million dollars).[1][2]

Three people were detained as part of a broader investigation, including the truck’s Albanian driver and two people in Istanbul.[1][2] Anadolu Agency footage of the seizure shows the sacks lined up after the search, and its account matches the ministry’s: a tip, 152 ten-kilo sacks, three arrests and the largest single-operation bust at the border gates.[3]