Turkey seizes over one and a half tonne of cannabis at Istanbul port after tip-off

The Turkish authorities on Tuesday have seized over one and a half tonne of marihuana in a ship arriving at an Istanbul port from Mexico, Cumhuriyet newspaper reported.

Security forces have made the haul after they searched a suspected ship at the Ambarli port, acting on intelligence that a large amount of drugs would be shipped from Mexico to Turkey two months ago, the newspaper said.

During the operation, 1,580 kilograms and 640 grams of marijuana were seized in fabric bales and five suspects were detained.

It is believed that the suspects were running the Turkish branch of the drug cartels in South America, Cumhuriyet said. 

In the recent years, Turkey became a drug trafficking route between Europe and South America, according to the country’s counter-narcotics police directorate.