ANKARA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police detained nine people suspected of involvement in international drug trafficking and seized 373 kg of cocaine in a northwestern province, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Tuesday.
The suspects, believed to be part of an organized crime organization, were trying to ship drugs from South America to Türkiye, Yerlikaya wrote on social media platform X, adding that the cocaine was concealed in a container at the Gemlik port in Bursa province.
The operations were carried out by the Istanbul and Bursa police departments, he said, without specifying the timing of the operations.
"I want our beloved nation to know that we are determined to clean our country from poison dealers. Our operations against poison dealers all over our country will continue to intensify," he said.
Türkiye, often used by illegal drug dealers as a transit hub, has ramped up its crackdown on drug smuggling since last year. ■
