Turkish authorities detained 288 people in a 23-province narcotics operation based in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, officials said Thursday, describing the raids as targeting suspected street-level drug sales while police procedures were still underway.
The operation was launched under the coordination of the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and targeted people suspected of street-level drug sales, which authorities say involve the direct sale of narcotics to users, including young people.
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek had earlier announced that detention warrants had been issued for 405 suspects. Deputy Interior Minister Ali Çelik later said at a press conference in Diyarbakır that 288 people had been detained and that police procedures were ongoing.
Çelik said 2,670 police officers took part in the operation, which was also supported by a helicopter, drones and four narcotics dogs.
He said the suspects’ records included references not only to drug trafficking but also to around 3,075 other alleged offenses, including intentional injury, threats, insult, property damage and theft.
Çelik said authorities were carrying out anti-drug operations with a particular focus on protecting young people and children, adding that operations would continue around schools, neighborhoods and streets.
Turkey has in recent years faced growing concerns over the scale of drug trafficking and domestic drug use, particularly as synthetic substances have become more widespread.
According to a 2025 report by the Turkish police, Turkey has moved beyond its traditional role as a corridor for illegal drugs and has become both a destination market and a production hub. The report said traffickers are increasingly using the country not only to move drugs onward but also to process and manufacture them.
The report documented 49 methamphetamine conversion facilities discovered between 2022 and 2024, with 44 located in İstanbul alone. Authorities also identified more than 10 illegal pharmaceutical tableting operations and two Captagon production sites in border provinces.
Drug-related deaths rose 42 percent to 427 in 2024, with synthetic cannabinoids and methamphetamine the most frequently detected substances in fatal cases, according to the report. Six of the deaths involved children ages 15 to 18.
Customs figures released by the Ministry of Trade in March also pointed to a sharp rise in drug seizures at Turkey’s borders. Customs enforcement units seized more than 33 tons of drugs in 2025, a 38 percent increase over the previous year, with an estimated market value of around 44–45 billion Turkish lira ($1.02 billion).
The figures covered only drugs seized in customs and border operations and did not include confiscations made inside the country by the police, gendarmerie or coast guard.
Turkey has long been considered a key transit route for drugs moving from Afghanistan and other regions toward Europe, but recent police and customs data suggest the country is also facing a growing domestic drug problem. Synthetic drugs, particularly methamphetamine, synthetic cannabinoids and illegal pharmaceutical tablets, have featured prominently in recent seizures and investigations.