Türkiye conducts largest drug op in its history: Minister
ANKARA
Türkiye has carried out the most extensive narcotics operation in its history, apprehending 525 suspects in the capital Ankara, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on April 17.
The operation that commenced at 5 a.m. on April 17, was the culmination of six months of preparation, Yerlikaya said in a statement on X.
"Throughout this six-month period, we took an X-ray of Ankara. Our fieldwork and analytical processes were executed with scrupulous precision," the minister noted.
The suspects were subjected to both technical surveillance and physical monitoring, during which every criminal act was meticulously documented and substantiated with evidentiary rigor.
Over 4,700 police personnel were mobilized in the operation, which also involved aerial reconnaissance units and four unmanned aerial vehicles. Simultaneous raids were launched at 626 separate locations.
“The street you enter is a dead end,” Yerlikaya wrote, addressing drug dealers.
“Should you attempt to prey upon our youth, you will be held to account before the law.”
This domestic crackdown followed Türkiye’s announcement on April 15 of a sweeping multinational operation targeting transnational narcotics syndicates, which resulted in the detention of 234 suspects.
Yerlikaya revealed at a press briefing in Ankara that coordinated raids were carried out concurrently in Türkiye, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Belgium.
These operations were the product of protracted intelligence cooperation spanning several states, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, Greece, Serbia
