Turkish authorities, in a joint operation, discovered 350 kilograms of cocaine from a cargo ship at Mersin Port. This shipment, which was secretly hidden in the ship's marine hatch, is considered part of efforts to combat drug trafficking in the country.
Details of the Shipment Discovery
According to reports, Turkish police and narcotics units, following information about the arrival of a large drug shipment from South America to Mersin Port, conducted inspections of the ships. As a result of this operation, divers successfully found 12 large packages containing 350 kilograms of cocaine. The estimated value of this shipment is around 31 million dollars.
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The cargo ship where this shipment was found is named CSPC Pisces and is owned by a Chinese company. This ship, which has a capacity of 84,500 tons, departed from Brazil and had stopped in Tarragona, Spain before arriving in Turkey. The date of the ship's arrival at Mersin Port was reported as September 11.
Consequences of This Discovery
The Turkish government has stated that Mersin is recognized as an important entry point for cocaine from Latin America. In January, Turkish authorities also discovered nearly 300 kilograms of cocaine from a container that was declared as a peanut shipment from Brazil. From 2018 to 2024, the total seizures at Mersin Port reached 4.1 tons of cocaine.
According to reports, Turkish police have discovered more than 3 tons of cocaine in 2024, showing a 23 percent increase compared to 2023. Recent analyses have also indicated that traffickers are increasingly using marine hatches to hide their smuggling shipments.
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