12.4 million cannabis plants seized in Lice; 22 arrested
Gendarmerie teams seized 12,389,000 cannabis and skunk plants and 127 kg of cannabis in Lice, Diyarbakır, in an operation announced on 14 June 2025. All 22 suspects caught were remanded in custody by the courts.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that gendarmerie teams seized
12,389,000 cannabis and skunk plants together with 127 kilograms of cannabis
in Lice district, Diyarbakır.[1][2]The plants were enough to produce more
than 100 tonnes of powdered cannabis, according to the minister’s
statement.[1][2]
The operation deployed 143 teams with 1,780 personnel, supported by an S-70
utility helicopter, an ATAK attack helicopter, two gendarmerie drones and
remote-sensing systems.[1]Twenty-two suspects were caught in the
operation, and all of them were remanded in custody by the courts to which
they were brought.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Turkey's interior ministry said on 28 October 2026 that gendarmerie teams in 32 provinces had destroyed 119,772 cannabis and skunk plants. Of 423 suspects caught, 298 were remanded and 125 were released under judicial control.
Gendarmerie teams destroyed 48,579 cannabis plants at 35 sites across Yenişehir, Eğil and Sur. Türkiye’s Interior Ministry reported that officers seized 36 kilograms of cannabis and estimated that the destroyed crop could have yielded 1.2 tonnes.
Turkey's Interior Ministry said on 21 September 2026 that gendarmerie teams had destroyed 217,608 cannabis and skunk plants on 99 illegal plots in the Lice and Kulp districts of Diyarbakır. The ministry said the crop could have yielded about five tonnes of cannabis powder and that 15 kg of cannabis was also seized. It reported no arrests.
Governor-led teams raided cannabis fields in seven districts of Diyarbakır with 2,212 personnel, a helicopter and drones, destroying 7,543,818 cannabis and skunk plants. The governor's office said the plants could have produced 174 tonnes of hashish, and eight people were detained. The operation was one of the largest in the southeast, where most illegal cannabis cultivation is found.
