Turkish police raided dozens of warehouses on suspicion of stockpiling produce such as potatoes and onions as part an “all-out war” against high inflation, the T24 news website reported on Wednesday.
The raids came after remarks made by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan targeting wholesalers who stockpile basic goods amidst a currency crisis the country has experienced this year.
According to some Turkish media reports, there has been a public disturbance due to skyrocketing prices of onion and potato recently. In some markets, the price for a kilo of onion has doubled, reports said.
Erdoğan previously called them “opportunists” for benefiting from the crisis, although he was hesitant to admit that there have been economic problems in the country.
An Agriculture and Forestry Ministry official said 45 warehouses were recently raided in Ankara and that those who were stockpiling goods without permission would be subject to fines.
A similar inspection was held in Çorum province upon the order of Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, according to the report.
Turkey has been undergoing a currency crisis during which the lira has lost almost 40 percent of its value against the US dollar since the beginning of the year.
Albayrak last month launched an “all-out war” against high inflation that stemmed from the crisis.