19 kg of live medical leeches were seized at Istanbul Airport.

Customs officers at Istanbul Airport on August 29, 2024, suspected Russian passengers entering Turkey from Russia and sent them to the X-ray machine. During the inspections, live medical leeches were detected inside a suitcase. The situation was reported to the Arnavutköy District Agriculture and Forestry Directorate Fisheries Control Officers by Customs Smuggling and Intelligence Officers.

THE LEECHES WERE ALIVE

Upon the notification, the teams that arrived at the scene determined that the Russian citizen had illegally brought live medical leeches into Turkey. It was learned that the person did not have the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) certificate. As a result, 20,000 large-sized live medical leeches weighing 19 kg were seized. The foreign national who brought the medical leeches illegally was fined 1,312,408 TL.