Turkey seizes nearly 9 tonnes of methamphetamine in major drug bust

Turkish officials have seized nearly nine tonnes of methamphetamine, half of it at the Iranian border, in the last two weeks, the interior minister said on Thursday.

Ali Yerlikaya said 4.16 tonnes of methamphetamine were seized during this period, including 3.5 tonnes in Istanbul and the rest in other cities including Izmir in the west and Hakkari near the border with Iran and Iraq.

According to Turkish customs, more than 4.5 tonnes were found at the beginning of November in three trucks crossing into Turkey from Iran. Turkish police confiscated nearly 22 tonnes of methamphetamine last year, a sharp increase over previous years, according to official figures.

Methamphetamine is a stimulant whose effects are two to five times more intense and long-lasting than amphetamine, with greater addictive potential, experts say.

This synthetic drug, popular in Turkey, is sold in Europe or North America in the form of crystals, powder, capsules or tablets.

The European Union Drugs Agency says the increase in methamphetamine seizures in Turkey could be explained by a rise in production in Iran and Afghanistan, where its trade has intensified since the Taliban imposed a ban in 2022 on the cultivation of opium poppies, used to manufacture heroin.