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Turkish customs authorities seized 4.3 tons of pregabalin worth an estimated 3.025 billion Turkish liras (approximately $66 million) at the Ipsala border crossing in northwestern Türkiye, the Trade Ministry said Wednesday.
The operation was carried out by customs enforcement teams as part of ongoing efforts to combat narcotics trafficking.
According to the ministry, a truck arriving from Greece and seeking entry into Türkiye was referred for a detailed inspection at the Ipsala Customs Gate in Edirne province.
The vehicle was searched under the supervision of personnel from the Ipsala Customs Enforcement, Smuggling and Intelligence Directorate.
Authorities discovered 4,321 kilograms of pregabalin, a controlled pharmaceutical substance that can be abused as a narcotic, concealed inside the vehicle.
The Trade Ministry said the seized drugs, with an estimated market value of 3.025 billion liras, were confiscated.
The Ipsala Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into the case.
The operation comes less than a week after Turkish customs and intelligence officers seized approximately 1.5 tons of heroin and methamphetamine hidden inside a truck at the same border crossing.
Authorities said last Thursday that the seizure, valued at more than €56 million ($64.8 million), dealt a significant blow to the so-called Balkan route, the main overland corridor used to transport Afghan heroin through Iran and Türkiye to European markets.
Ipsala, located on Türkiye’s border with Greece, is one of the country’s busiest land crossings and a key transit point for commercial traffic between Europe and Asia.
Turkish authorities have intensified counternarcotics operations in recent years, targeting both domestic trafficking networks and international smuggling routes.
According to official figures, security and customs authorities seized a total of 33.6 tons of narcotics in operations across Türkiye in 2025, with an estimated market value approaching €840 million.
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