Turkey seizes tonne of heroin in the Med

Turkish police and coast guard teams seized more than a tonne of drugs in an operation targeting a commercial ship flying the flag of the Republic of the Congo in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea.

According to security sources, the drug crimes department carried out a security operation in international waters after receiving a message that drugs were being smuggled near the Suez Canal aboard a ship flying the flag of the Congo.

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The sources pointed out that the operation against the ship carrying crew of nine Turks, was coordinated between the Ministries of Interior and Defence and the command of the Turkish Navy vessel Commander Tide.

According to the same sources, Turkish forces gained control of the ship on the night of 2 June bringing it and its crew into the port of Mugla in the west of the country.

The teams participating in the operation discovered secret sections inside the ship, which contained bags of heroin weighing a total of 17.7 kilogrammes each. Crew from the ship were transferred are now under investigation.

Turkish police and coast guard teams seized more than a tonne of drugs in the Mediterranean Sea on 2 June 2017 [Mugla Emniyet Mudurlugu/Anadolu Agency]

Turkish police and coast guard teams seized more than a tonne of drugs in the Mediterranean Sea on 2 June 2017 [Mugla Emniyet Mudurlugu/Anadolu Agency]