Turkish security forces have seized more than a tonne of heroin hidden in a Democratic Republic of Congo-flagged cargo ship in a raid in international waters, Reuters reports.
The anti-drug operation was launched after the Turkish narcotics squad received a tip-off that a ship, under the name of Commander Tide, was heading towards Turkey with a major drugs consignment – the largest such consignment seized in Turkey’s recent history.
Naval forces, regional coastguard and Mersin special forces took part in the raid, which saw 40 sacks containing 1,071 kilogrammes of heroin being seized.
The sacks were hidden in secret compartments on the ship.
Nine crew members have been detained in an operation that took place on June 2 the ship has been transported to a naval base at Marmaris in southwest Turkey.
The drugs haul had a market value of around 200 million lira ($57 million), police said.
The Smack Track
Turkey is a known smuggling route for heroin from Afghanistan to Europe. Featuring as a gateway for class A drugs to enter mainland Europe, Turkey is the last stop on, what narcotics experts call, the “African Smack Track”.
Leading a circuitous route from Afghanistan, heroin is believed to travel through large portions of East and North Africa.
The route through the continent is known as the “Southern Route”, and enters such countries as Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia – before heading north to hit the shores of southern Europe.
The Southern Route is believed to have started in the 1980s on a small-scale, but of recent, drug traffic has increased and in 2015 over 3,500 kilogrammes of heroin was seized – according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Two drug busts in November 2016, netting 712kg of the stuff, closed a record year for heroin seizures off the coast of Kenya.
Taking to the seas
With transport over land becoming increasingly difficult, smugglers have taken to the seas to ship heroin onto East African shores. Using dhows or cargo ships, the drugs are then taken ashore on small speed boats.
The heroin is then broken up into small packages before being “muled” to Europe from international airports, or sent by lorry to southern Africa for onward shipping.
With criminal gangs operating the transferring of the goods, authorities have found it hard to police. The latest seizure in Turkey, however big, may just be a drop in the ocean in comparison to how much heroin is smuggled through Africa.
