Stimulants

Turkish police have seized the third largest haul of cocaine in the country's history, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced, as groups monitoring organized crime warned that the country was becoming an entry point for drugs reaching Europe.

In Burgas, a woman took extreme measures to conceal drugs during a police check, which ultimately led to her hospitalization due to intoxication.

Türkiye, a key transit point for drug trafficking, has seen a dramatic surge in methamphetamine seizures, reaching an all-time high in 2023, according to the latest report from a monitoring body for the implementation of U.N. drug control conventions.

Dozens of packages of cocaine were confiscated on Wednesday by Greek authorities at the port of Piraeus inside banana containers shipped from Ecuador.

Customs inspectors undertook an x-ray examination of a suspicious cargo container of bananas revealing organic material in the refrigeration units. 

The relentless rise in methamphetamine use across Türkiye, particularly in Istanbul, has presented an alarming challenge for law enforcement agencies in recent years, stoking worry among citizens.

A 71-year-old man was arrested in the Drapetsona area near Piraeus after more than 4.5 kilograms of cocaine were found in his possession.

According to the police, officers from the Patra Narcotics Division located the suspect at his residence based on gathered intelligence.

Police on the popular holiday island of Mykonos busted up a party at a villa and arrested 15 people on a slew of charges, including drug violations and noise pollution, according to an announcement on Tuesday.

Packages of the cocaine seized by Australian police on the cargo ship St Pinot. Photo: Australian Federal Police.Photo: Australian Federal Police

Australian authorities reported that Pinot's captain, M. B., and its chief engineer, R.V., both from Montenegro, were charged with smuggling cocaine worth 375 million US dollars, believed to have come from South America.

More than 100 kilograms of cocaine were seized by police in Thessaloniki investigating a drug smuggling network.

According to reports on Tuesday, investigators have arrested nine suspects in what is being described as an ongoing operation against the racket.

Istanbul police's anti-narcotic unit has seized over 650 kilograms of methamphetamine in the latest operation, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has informed.

The teams busted 654 kilograms of crystal and liquid methamphetamine in the operation carried out in the Beykoz district, Soylu wrote in a social media post, congratulating the unit.