Turkey’s interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, has announced the seizure of 298 kilograms of cocaine during an operation at the Port of Mersin in southern Turkey.
Yerlikaya said in a post on X on Wednesday that the cocaine was discovered inside a container legally declared to be carrying peanuts and shipped from Brazil to Turkey. The search was carried out by the Mersin police department’s anti-narcotics unit.
Mersin Limanında Uluslararası Uyuşturucuyla Mücadele Kapsamında bu sabah Polisimiz tarafından düzenlenen operasyonumuzda 298 kg kokain ele geçirdik❗️
Mersin Emniyet Müdürlüğü Narkotik Suçlarla Mücadele Şube Müdürlüğünce yapılan çalışmalar sonucu, bir gemide yasal yükü yer… pic.twitter.com/kqq6dzP67j
— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) January 15, 2026
“Our fight against drugs, from kingpins to street dealers, is about protecting our citizens, especially young people, from a crime against humanity,” Yerlikaya said.
The seizure comes amid ongoing drug operations in Turkey, including high-profile investigations targeting celebrities and media figures, with new detentions reported almost daily.
Yet the Turkish government is being accused of focusing its drug enforcement efforts on street-level dealers and users rather than on those alleged to be involved in large-scale drug trafficking.
Yerlikaya’s announcement also comes at a time when Spanish authorities seized last week nearly 10 metric tons of cocaine from a cargo ship in the Atlantic Ocean that Turkish media have linked to a Turkey-based company.
Spanish police said the Cameroonian-flagged vessel was intercepted on January 6 during an operation in international waters as it was heading toward Europe. Officers found 9,994 kilograms (22,033 pounds) of cocaine concealed in 294 packages hidden in a shipment of salt, authorities said.
All 13 crew members, who allegedly include four Turks, were arrested, and police seized a firearm believed to have been used to guard the drugs.
The vessel’s alleged ties to Turkey have sparked criticism from opposition figures. The Turkish government has not commented on the case.
A Turkish company whose name has appeared in some reports due to similarities with the shipowner’s company name issued a statement on Wednesday denying any connection to the vessel.