Eleven kilograms of cocaine seized in Mersin

Photos: AA

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Eleven kilograms of cocaine has been seized at the Mersin International Port in a banana container on a ship from Ecuador. 

Mersin Provincial Directorate of Security has announced that the narcotic teams under their directorate learned that drugs were found in the banana container on the ship. 10 packages and 11 kilograms of cocaine were found in the search in the container carried out with narcotic detection dogs. 

İ.B. who is allegedly involved was taken into custody.

Previous seizures and reports

It was announced that 850 kilograms of cocaine seized in the Guayaquil Port of Ecuador last year in June was on a ship bound for Turkey. 

In a previous police operation in the Mersin International Port, 250 kilograms of cocaine was captured, again coming from Guayaquil. 

InSight Crime, wrote in an article detailing the South America - Turkey cocaine route and the destinations that the drugs is being distributed from here that "Turkey, with a foot in both Europe and Asia, has become an essential hub for cocaine being trafficked from Latin America to emerging cocaine markets." 

According to the European Drug Report 2023 by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), the highest increase in the drugs captured in the EU between 2011-2021 is in cocaine with 416 percent. Cannabis comes second with a 260 percent increase in the amount captured, heroin third with a 126 percent increase, MDMA fourth with a 123 percent increase, cannabis resin fifth with a 77 percent increase, and amphetamine sixth with a 42 percent increase. 

1/3 of prisoners are involved in drug-related crimes

The number of those arrested and convicted for drug-related crimes increased from 36 thousand to 128 thousand in the last seven years, according to the figures announced by the Ministry of Interior.

The total number of imprisoned people is 341 thousand 497 according to the data provided by the Ministry of Justice. Thus one-third of those who are in prison are those who are involved in drug-related crimes. (AS/PE)