Police seize 30 tons of smuggled giblets disguised as animal feed in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

Istanbul police have seized 30 tons of giblets smuggled into Turkey under the disguise of animal feed, daily Habertürk reported on Feb. 16.

Teams from Istanbul customs enforcement had been tracking the smugglers, who sought to take advantage of the recent increase in giblet prices.

It was revealed that some 30 tons of giblets were smuggled inside a container declared as animal feed and brought from Norway.

After officials discovered the declaration to be misleading, and the container to contain smuggled giblets, they fined the smugglers twice the amount of the customs tax.

Meanwhile, teams from İzmir customs enforcement also carried out an operation in the central Anatolian province of Afyon and seized 65 tons of calf’s liver.

With a market value of more than one million Turkish Liras, the calf’s liver was found to have been taken out of Poland for a “lack of sanitary conditions,” though a series of laboratory controls have subsequently shown the liver to have sufficient sanitary conditions.

Current laws require a special permit and high tax rates for giblets import.