54 tons of drugs were seized by customs in 10 months
Quick Look
- The Ministry of Commerce reported that 54 tons 480 kilograms of drugs, 9 million 261 thousand 191 electronic cigarette pods/cartridges, 105 thousand 116 electronic cigarette devices and 27 million 284 thousand 924 tubes, as well as millions of packs of cigarettes and tons of tobacco were seized during customs operations in the January-October period.
- Illegal products were destroyed.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The Ministry of Commerce stated that it continues its anti-smuggling activities in order to protect Türkiye's economic security and prevent the entry of smuggled products that threaten public health into the country.
In the written statement made by the Ministry of Commerce, information was given regarding the drugs and smuggled goods seized during the operations carried out at customs in the 10-month period of this year.
In the statement, it was stated that anti-smuggling activities are being continued with determination in order to protect Türkiye's economic security and to prevent the entry of smuggled products that threaten public health into the country and their supply to the market.
In the statement, it was pointed out that within the framework of a risk analysis-based and targeting-oriented working model, vehicles, passengers and belongings deemed risky were meticulously examined with X-ray systems, detector dogs and state-of-the-art control equipment, and the following statements were used:
“In the operations between January and October, 54 tons 480 kilograms of drugs, 9 million 261 thousand 191 electronic cigarette pods/cartridges, 105 thousand 116 electronic cigarette devices and parts, 27 million 284 thousand 924 full and empty tubes, 1 million 658 thousand 497 packs of cigarettes, 300 tons 993 kilograms of cigarettes and hookah tobacco, 20 "A large number of contraband items were seized, including 1 million 675 thousand 55 cigarette filters and papers, 4 thousand 530 liters of liquid nicotine and electronic cigarette liquid, 22 thousand 167 cigars and cigarillos, and 33 thousand 413 liters of alcoholic beverages."
ILLEGAL PRODUCTS ARE DESTROYED
In the statement, it was reported that the products that did not have legal stamps on their packages within the scope of the relevant legislation and were found to be smuggled were destroyed by technical teams after the necessary sampling procedures.
In this context, the statement stated that the re-circulation of smuggled products that threaten human health, feed the informal economy and cause unfair competition is prevented, and the following was noted:
"As the Ministry, we continue to strengthen the technological infrastructure and operational capacity of our teams in order to prevent the entry and trade of all kinds of smuggled goods that harm human health, especially drugs, into our country. We will continue our fight against all types of smuggling to protect the economic security of our country and the health of our citizens."
Open Questions
- What is the total estimated value of the seized items?
- How many people were arrested or detained?
- In which customs operations were operations concentrated?
