Police have seized 825 kilograms of heroin and arrested 30 people in a series of raids, largely in southern Turkey, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Wednesday.
Straddling Asia and Europe, Turkey lies on several major smuggling routes and is the main entry point for heroin bound for the European market.
“In operations across seven provinces, centered in [the southern city of] Adana … we seized 825 kilograms [1,818 pounds] of heroin and arrested 30 suspected drug traffickers,” he wrote on X.
“825 Kg EROİN ELE GEÇİRDİK”
Adana merkezli 7 ilde elebaşılığını Ş.I.'nın (yurt dışı firar) yaptığı Uyuşturucu Organize Suç Örgütüne yönelik düzenlediğimiz operasyonlarımızda;🔻825 Kg EROİN uyuşturucu maddesi ele geçirdik, organize suç örgütü üyesi 30 şüpheli Zehir Tacirini… pic.twitter.com/pUd6CrgiBt
— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) July 2, 2025
In a simultaneous operation, police raided 38 locations in Adana, Hakkari, Hatay, İstanbul, Van, Diyarbakır and Mersin, seizing unlicensed weapons and “a large quantity” of digital material, he said.
Heroin continues to be the most commonly used illicit opioid in the European Union and “increasingly relies on maritime routes and in particular the use of global container traffic and ferries” departing from Turkey, Europol’s 2024 analysis of the EU drug market said.
The report said Turkish criminal networks continue to dominate the wholesale trafficking of heroin to the European market.
© Agence France-Presse