Author: Assoc. Prof. Cem Çetin, Ph.D.
A Different Perspective on Cocaine Seizures in Turkey
Turkey has long played a crucial role in European drug trafficking due to its geographical location. In fact, the Balkan Route, one of the most important drug routes connecting Asia to Europe, passes through Turkey. This route has historically been more active than other routes, which also explains why Turkish narcotics police have almost always ranked among the top in the world in heroin seizures.
As it is known, there are two main heroin production centers in the world: The Golden Crescent and the Golden Triangle. The Golden Crescent countries are Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran, while the Golden Triangle countries are Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. Of the countries in these two regions, Afghanistan is by far the largest producer. In fact, according to a United Nations UNODC report, Afghanistan alone accounted for 90 percent of total world heroin production in 2021.
Europe, the world’s most prosperous continent and naturally the most important destination for drug traffickers marketing Afghan heroin, meets 95 percent of its heroin consumption from Afghanistan. As stated above, Turkey is a very important route for the transit of this heroin to Europe, and therefore it is quite normal that heroin seizures are high. What is abnormal is that, with an increasing trend in recent years, cocaine seizures in Turkey are proportionally higher than heroin seizures when compared to the past. This abnormality is directly related to the fact that the only production region of cocaine in the world is South America and Turkey is located thousands of kilometers far from this region.
To elaborate on this, the proximity of a country to the production area of any of the drugs inevitably determines the drug trafficking to that country, and that is why cocaine seizures are highest in the United States, while heroin seizures are highest in countries along the Afghanistan-Europe route.
Now, after this information, the significant increase in the number of cocaine seizures in Turkey, both by the police and customs enforcement units, is really quite remarkable. As a matter of fact, in previous years, for example in 2012, only 476 kg of cocaine was seized in Turkey compared to a total of 13 tons and 302 kg of heroin. In 2019, 1 ton of 638 kg of cocaine was seized against 20 tons of 166 kg of heroin, and this figure increased to 2 tons of 800 kg in 2021.
Last June, the largest cocaine seizure in Turkey’s history took place when 1 ton and 300 kg of cocaine was seized hidden among bananas on a ship coming from South America to Mersin. Shortly after this seizure, half a ton of cocaine was seized in a container loaded with bananas sent to Mersin port from the same region. The amount of cocaine seized in these two incidents is close to the amount seized in 2019 as a whole.
Interestingly, this figure does not include the amount of cocaine seized in South America on ships with a final destination in Turkey. For example, again in June 2021, 4 tons and 900 kg of cocaine were seized in an operation conducted by the Colombian police on a ship bound from Colombia to Istanbul. In January this year, Ecuadorian police seized 1 ton and 300 kg of cocaine on a ship destined for the port of Mersin.
This rise in cocaine seizures is indicative of a very serious increase in the amount of illicit cocaine entering Turkey. As can be seen from the examples given above, the high amount of cocaine seized in South America on ships whose final destination is Turkey further confirms this situation. It is very likely that, until recently, this picture did not attract the attention of anyone other than the anti-drug security services. However, this was changed after the public statements of mafia leader Sedat Peker, which shook the public opinion. By naming specific places, times, and people, Sedat Peker has lifted the veil of secrecy over the increase in cocaine seizures in Turkey, especially in the last years. As a matter of fact, with his statements, the public learned that Erkan Yıldırım, the son of former Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, and some names close to the current ruling party, were at the center of this business. Indeed, a capture in Brazil in August 2021 confirmed Sedat Peker’s statements. The Brazilian police seized 1 ton and 300 kg of cocaine in an old VIP jet that was first purchased during the late Turgut Özal’s reign and used by all prime ministers since then until it was sold. What made it interesting was that the private jet on which the cocaine was seized was operated by a company owned by a former AKP parliamentary candidate.
In conclusion, when we evaluate the picture as a whole, this extraordinary increase in the amount of cocaine entering Turkey and the power behind this increase, which was deciphered by Sedat Peker, is a clear indication that Turkey is rapidly moving full speed ahead towards becoming a ‘narco-state’. In addition, this development in the cocaine trade suggests that there is an overlooked relationship between cocaine smuggling into Turkey and the government’s recent regulations abolishing the practice of asking the source of foreign currency brought into the country from abroad. Why not, it is obvious that a government that has put even Tekirdağ beaches up for sale due to the economic crisis that has been felt in the last few years and which has deepened even more this year, cannot remain indifferent to the money coming from drug trafficking, which reaches 500 billion dollars annually in the world.
