ISTANBUL, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Turkish authorities have detained 47 suspects in a nationwide sweep across 21 provinces targeting the Islamic State (IS), local authorities of the southeastern province of Sanliurfa said Wednesday.
During the operation led by prosecutors of the province, police conducted simultaneous raids in provinces including Istanbul, Izmir, and Ankara, detaining 47 individuals suspected of providing financial support to IS.
An analysis of financial records by Türkiye's Financial Crimes Investigation Board found that they had carried out transactions totaling 108 million Turkish liras (about 2.3 million U.S. dollars).
Türkiye designated IS as a terrorist group in 2013. Since then, the country has suffered multiple attacks by the group, prompting Ankara to launch extensive counter-terrorism operations.
Meanwhile, Turkish police have seized more than 1.28 tons of narcotics and detained 110 suspects in a series of anti-drug operations centered in Istanbul over the past 10 days, authorities said Wednesday.
According to Istanbul's Narcotics Crimes Department, the operations extended to the provinces of Diyarbakir, Sanliurfa, and Kocaeli, targeting organized crime group involved in domestic and international drug trafficking, as well as street-level dealers. ■