ANKARA, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Turkish authorities have seized six million drug pills and 270 kg of narcotics in large-scale operations carried out across 23 provinces over the past two weeks, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Friday.
The operations were conducted by the gendarmerie as part of an ongoing crackdown targeting drug dealers and organized narcotics networks operating both online and on the ground, the Turkish minister said on social media platform X.
A total of 521 suspects were detained during the raids. Of those, 177 were formally arrested, while 91 were released under judicial control. Legal procedures for the remaining suspects are still ongoing, he added.
Investigations revealed that the suspects were selling drugs through social media platforms and messaging applications and involved in organizing large-scale narcotics trafficking networks.
Türkiye has long struggled with international drug trafficking. Turkish security forces regularly conduct operations to combat drug abuse and smuggling. ■