Illegal drug trade

Turkish police on Dec. 24 seized kilograms (nearly 500 pounds) of marijuana from a truck in the country's southeast, according to a security source.

The drugs were seized in Gaziantep after anti-drug teams stopped the vehicle and arrested the driver in a sniffer dog-aided operation, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Police seized over 90 kilograms of heroin in eastern Turkey on Dec. 23, according to security sources.
The anti-drug police in the province of Van confiscated the illicit drug when they stopped a passenger bus in Tuşba district, the local police said in a statement.
During the search of bus, assisted by a sniffer dog, police found the drugs hidden in the trunk.

Indonesian authorities say they have arrested six foreigners accused of trying to smuggle drugs into the tourist island of Bali, the Associated Press reported.

A Swiss, Thai, Singaporean, Chilean, and two Hong Kong men dressed in orange prison clothing were brought with their hands and feet at a press conference in the provincial capital of Bali Denpasar.

Judging by a spate of drugs busts over the past 12 months, Balkan crime gangs are major players in the trafficking of heroin, cocaine, marijuana and synthetic drugs around the world.

17 suspected members of a drug gang were killed last night in Brazil in a police involvement in a clash between criminal groups, according to the France Press, citing local authorities.

A 36-year-old foreign national tried to smuggle 1.45 kilograms of cocaine through Greek customs at Athens International Airport on Tuesday.
The man, who had swallowed the drug in 34 small packages, flew into Athens from Sao Paolo in Brazil via Rome.
He appeared before an Athens prosecutor later in the day.

A well-organized drug dealing operation, which had been stationed next to the Athens University of Economics and Business and had served its customers through a hole in the wall, was dismantled in a coordinated crackdown on Friday, police said on Saturday.

Brazil is becoming a growing exporter, ahead of Colombia's largest producer. This became clear from announced customs data, BGNES reported.

So far this year, by September 25, authorities have seized 40.7 tonnes of cocaine at the Belgian port of Antwerp, the main entry point for drugs. Quarter of the seized drugs, 26 percent, came from Brazil, according to Belgian Customs Services.

A group fro trafficking of large quantities of heroin from Turkey through Bulgaria to the Netherlands has been busted, prosecutors say.

The action was held on September 20. The leader of the group, who is a Bulgarian citizen, has been detained. Searches, seizures and questioning of witnesses were carried out.

Iran seized 8.8 tonnes of drugs destined for Europe and busted one of the three largest crime groups for drug trafficking, police officials reported on Thursday.