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Turkish police seized 350 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a compartment beneath a cargo ship that had arrived at Mersin Port from Brazil, Türkiye's Interior Ministry announced, with 9 suspects detained in the operation.
According to the ministry, the operation was coordinated by the General Directorate of Security's Anti-Narcotics Department, working with the Istanbul and Mersin provincial police departments' anti-narcotics and intelligence units, after authorities received information that a ship departing from South America and headed to Mersin Port was carrying a large quantity of narcotics.
Acting on that information, Mersin's Anti-Narcotics Department, coordinating with the Mersin Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, tracked the cargo ship's arrival at the port.
Investigators determined that suspects had planned to have a diver retrieve the drugs from a hidden compartment in the lower hull of the vessel, prompting the involvement of the police's Underwater Group Command.
Police divers located the hidden compartment in the ship's Kingston valve area, part of the vessel's engine cooling water system, on the outer lower hull. Inside, they found 350 kilograms of cocaine divided into 12 separate packages, with an estimated street value of approximately ₺1.5 billion ($30.9 million).
Nine suspects, identified by the initials O.D.A., M.D., M.S., A.E., Y.T., B.B., E.B., E.Y., and O.K., were taken into police custody and face legal proceedings on charges of "manufacturing and trafficking narcotics or stimulant substances."
Diving equipment and an underwater sea scooter were also seized during the operation, according to the Interior Ministry, which said the investigation is ongoing.
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