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Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that 304 street-level drug dealers were detained during a nationwide operation code-named “Narkokapan-Bursa,” involving simultaneous raids at 318 locations across 21 provinces in Türkiye.
In a post shared on social media, Yerlikaya provided details of the operation, stating that it specifically targeted individuals involved in neighborhood-level drug distribution.
“Our goal is to crack down on street pushers—the ones selling drugs in back alleys and residential areas, especially those who prey on our youth,” Yerlikaya said. “We will make the streets unbearable for them.”
The operation, which was centered in the northwestern city of Bursa, was the result of four months of surveillance, intelligence gathering, and analysis. Yerlikaya stated that investigators monitored suspects through both technical and physical means, collecting extensive evidence before launching the raids.
A total of 3,190 police officers, supported by 452 operational teams, two helicopters, 22 narcotics detection dogs, and four unmanned aerial vehicles, participated in the operation.
The raids were concentrated in Bursa’s Yildirim, Kestel, Osmangazi, and Nilufer districts and simultaneously carried out in 20 other provinces: Istanbul, Balikesir, Bilecik, Eskisehir, Aydin, Kirikkale, Konya, Mus, Giresun, Erzurum, Antalya, Manisa, Zonguldak, Kocaeli, Yalova, Izmir, Ankara, Rize, Mugla, and Sakarya.
Minister Yerlikaya emphasized that anti-narcotics efforts will continue across Türkiye with determination: “Our struggle will not stop until we ensure that every neighborhood in Türkiye is safe from the poison of narcotics.”
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