Three remanded after 20 kg cannabis found in Syria-return ambulance
Customs officers at Çobanbey Gate in Elbeyli, Kilis, found 20 kg of cannabis hidden under a stretcher in a private-hospital ambulance returning from Syria on 13 November 2018. The driver, a health worker and the alleged recipient were detained and later remanded in custody, and the ambulance was seized by court order.
🇹🇷 Çobanbey Customs Gate, Elbeyli, Kilis · Türkiye
Customs officers stopped the private ambulance with plate 01 CGT 37, driven by
Y.Y., on suspicion as it returned to Turkey through Çobanbey Customs Gate after
leaving a Syrian patient in Syria.[1]Officers found 20 kilograms of cannabis
hidden under the stretcher and detained the driver and N.Ç. who was travelling
with him.[1]Acting on their statements, Çobanbey anti-smuggling teams caught
M.H. in Elbeyli district as the person due to receive the cannabis in Turkey.[1]
After questioning was completed, all three suspects were remanded in custody by
the judicial authorities.[2]The search took place on 13 November 2018 as the
ambulance returned from taking a discharged Syrian patient from a Gaziantep
private hospital to Syria.[2]The Kilis Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had
the private-hospital ambulance seized under a court order.[2]
The Gaziantep Provincial Health Directorate said the ambulance was not owned by
the Health Ministry and announced that it had opened an investigation.[3]A
later account described the haul as 22 kilograms.[2]
Photos and video
Haber7 lead photo for the report on cannabis seized in the ambulance returning from SyriaPhoto details
Sözcüsozcu.com.trTRAmbulansta esrar ele geçirilmesiyle ilgili 3 kişi tutuklandı
DHAdha.com.trTRSuriye'ye hasta bırakan ambulansta esrar ele geçirildi
Open questions the AI reported
The initial Haber7 and DHA reports give 20 kilograms while the later Sözcü/IHA account gives 22 kilograms; the report uses 20 kilograms from the search reports.
The seizure date was 13 November 2018, but the exact date of the remand is not given; 16 November 2018 is only the publication date of the remand report.
No charges, trial outcome or sentence beyond remand, and no value estimate for the cannabis, were reported.
Şanlıurfa narcotics police stopped a passenger bus and two cars on suspicion and seized 17 kilograms 200 grams of skunk, a potent form of cannabis. The three suspects detained over the case were remanded in custody after being brought before a court, and the investigation continues.
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.
