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İstanbul police detained 161 people early today (March 14) in an investigation into a cocaine distribution network in the city, the interior minister has announced.
"This is the team that distributes cocaine in İstanbul. They are the distributes of a network that we can describe as 'home delivery' with 60 taxis and 35 motorcycle couriers," Süleyman Soylu said at a press conference at the İstanbul Security Directorate.
The raid targeted 175 people, with 14 still being sought, according to the minister.
Over the past 16 months, 266 people have been detained in relation to operations against dealers and distributors, the minister further said.
Turkey and cocaine trafficking
Cocaine trade between South America and Turkey has increased drastically over the past few years, as shown by police operations and international reports.
The 2022 report of the UN's International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) notes that Turkey has become a hub for the distribution of cocaine to Europe and the Middle East. The drug's use in the country has also increased, according to the report.
In July 2020, Colombia's police seized five tons of cocaine in a Turkey-bound ship in what was one of the largest single-time seizures. The drugs would be worth about 265 million dollars, the authorities in Colombia had said at the time.
In another bust in June 2022, some 850 kilos of cocaine were seized in Ecuador, on a ship bound for Turkey.
Sedat Peker, an exiled mob boss who shook Turkey with his online confessions in 2021, had claimed that incumbent and former senior government officials were in charge of the cocaine trade, explaining in detail how the drugs were distributed from Turkey to the Middle East and Europe.
CLICK - Sedat Peker claims to reveal new cocaine route between Colombia-Venezuela-Turkey
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