20.10.2026 15:54
Customs enforcement teams at Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gökçen have seized 8 tons and 875 kilograms of drugs and synthetic drugs in 253 separate incidents since the start of the year. Nurhak Demirtaş, Director of Smuggling and Intelligence, said that the drugs were hidden in the lining of suitcases and in items, and that some people were carrying them in their stomachs; he stated that they had recently made a 500-kilogram seizure and detected drugs soaked into pineapple puree.
KENAN IRTAK / FERHAT YASAK - In operations carried out within the scope of the fight against drug trafficking at Istanbul's airports, 8 tons 875 kilograms of narcotics and synthetic drugs were seized in 253 separate incidents since the beginning of 2026.
Customs enforcement teams affiliated with the Ministry of Trade, serving at Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, two of Turkey's most important international air transport hubs, continue passenger, baggage, and cargo inspections without interruption in order to prevent drug and commercial goods smuggling.
In operations carried out since the beginning of the year, various types of narcotic substances were seized, while hundreds of people linked to the incidents were caught and arrested following judicial processes.
Teams that use risk analysis, intelligence, and technological scanning methods together to uncover smuggling attempts concentrate especially on passengers and cargo coming from routes deemed risky in the international drug trade. In efforts against new concealment methods developed by drug traffickers, advanced detection devices are used alongside narcotics detector dogs.
SMUGGLERS CAN BE VERY CREATIVE
Nurhak Demirtaş, Director of the Istanbul Airport Customs Enforcement Smuggling and Intelligence Directorate, in a statement to an AA reporter on behalf of Istanbul's airports, said that Istanbul Airport is one of the leading airports of Turkey, Europe, and the world, and that the intense passenger and cargo traffic requires great responsibility in the fight against smuggling.
Stating that they carry out effective, efficient, and determined work in the fight against smuggling, Demirtaş said, "We control a great many passengers, cargo, and goods here. Smugglers can be very creative in their attempts to smuggle both drugs and commercial goods. As they develop new methods, we do everything we can to expose their methods and work to the end. Since the beginning of the year, we have seized approximately 8 tons 875 kilograms of narcotics and synthetic narcotic substances in 253 different incidents."
Touching on the results of operations against drug trafficking, Demirtaş stated that following the seizures, they had been instrumental in the arrest of hundreds of people.
DRUGS IMPREGNATED INTO PINEAPPLE PUREE
Explaining that drug traffickers resort to different methods to pass security checks, Demirtaş said that narcotic substances can be hidden in various parts of suitcases, in commercial goods, and in different products.
Stating that some suspects carry narcotic substances in their bodies, Demirtaş gave the following information about the methods they have encountered recently:
"No one attempts to bring in narcotic substances openly. There are those who bring them in what we call the 'swallower' profile, in their stomachs. They can be hidden in the sides and bottoms of suitcases, inside goods. Recently, there was a 500-kilogram seizure we made. We detected drugs impregnated into pineapple puree."
Noting that international flight routes are subjected to risk analysis in the fight against drug trafficking, Demirtaş stated that different routes and passengers coming from these routes come to the fore according to the types of narcotics and synthetic drugs.
CONTROL WITH A DEVICE THAT RECOGNIZES 20 THOUSAND CHEMICALS
Explaining that they benefit from technological opportunities at the highest level in the fight against smuggling, Demirtaş said that teams use different systems to detect narcotic substances.
Demirtaş said, "As a unit operating within the Ministry of Trade, we benefit from all the advantages of technology. We continue our real-time work with our body-packer detection devices, X-ray devices, chemical substance detection devices, and narcotics detector dogs."
Emphasizing that chemical substance detection devices in particular provide significant convenience in operations, Demirtaş continued as follows:
"At present, our chemical substance detection device contains approximately 20 thousand chemical definitions. Without sending it to the laboratory, it informs us as a preliminary report about what the substance is. This provides a very great advantage."
Stating that it is of great importance that checks are carried out quickly due to the intense passenger and cargo movement at Istanbul Airport, Demirtaş made the following assessment: "We are at a point where thousands of passengers and hundreds of thousands of cargo items pass through during the day. Speed is very important for us. The fact that we can obtain fast results in this way also plays a very important role in the efficiency and effectiveness of the activity we carry out."
Demirtaş said that operations carried out against drug trafficking play an important role in terms of deterrence.