DRAFT COUNTRY PROFILE 1998

REPUBLIC OF TURKEY

I.  Production

1. Opium:

            Turkey is one of the eight licit cultivators of opium poppies under control. At present, poppy cultivation and production of unlaced poppy capsules has been granted to eligible growers holding a valid license in 10 Turkish cities and some districts of 3 cities effective from Autumn of 1997. In 1998, total 27,963 tons of dry and unlanced opium poppy capsule production was effected from rugged 49,207 hectares, that is 570 kg opium poppy capsule production per hectare.

2. Cannabis:

            Licit cannabis cultivation is allowed to be used as either leaf or seed or as both in all towns of 20 cities. In 1998, 2,087 farmers from 141 villages; 27 towns administratively affiliated with 11 cities received cannabis cultivation authorization licenses. In these cities, cannabis was cultivated in an area of 7.345,75 decares with a total production of 618.028 kg and 12.700 fibres.

3. Heroin:

            Heroin base manufactured in Afghanistan is converted into heroin hydrochloride in Turkey destined for the European markets. Eight clandestine heroin laboratories have been discovered in 1998.

II. Illicit drug trafficking

            Turkey is located between major suppliers in the east, namely, the South West Asian countries with illicit poppy cultivation and opium production and the big consumer West European nations. Having such a location, Turkey happens to be a transit country on drug trafficking routes from producing regions to consuming locales.

            It has been observed that the illicit narcotics supplied from the producing countries by the trafficking organizations are immediately shipped to safer places where they are stockpiled and later on transported in smaller parties to Western markets; thus, using a trafficking technique named “double distribution”.

            A drug traffic from heroin takes place on an east-to-west axis in Turkey from southern and eastern drug production zones towards consumption locales in the west, while so called “an adverse flow” from west to east is detected in some precursors, synthetic drugs and cocaine trafficking in the countries being the producers of such substances. The seizures of acetic anhydride and synthetic tablets such as captagon and ecstazy provide a proof in this

respect. Thus, Turkey in this context happen to be situated at the crossroads of narcotic and precursor chemicals, in addition to being a transit country.

           The Balkan Route with its Northern, Central and Southern variants still holds an importance as a way linking the producing zones, routes of which pass also through Turkey, with consuming nations. A few years ago anti-drugs services seized large amounts of heroin in TIR trucks travelling along the most direct route from Turkey to Western Europe (Northern variant of Balkan Route). This situation has changed the traffic along the Balkan Route, the trafficking organizations began using light transport. In 1998 there was considerable (361%) increase in drugs confiscation from vehicles compared with the year before. 

            On the other hand, the presence of the Northern Black Sea, which first emerged as an alternative route during the re-structuring process just in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union as well as the result of effective Turkish drug interdiction, was first spotted by Turkey in recent years, which was also recognized as a fact by other countries.

            It is possible to mention the Eastern Mediterranean route which is seeing illicit drug volumes produced in one of the leading producing regions, the Golden Crescent, namely, leading from Indian Ocean by sea, then passing through the Suez Channel, across the south of Greek Cyprus Sector arriving finally in southern Europe.

III.  Fight Against Illicit Drugs

Drugs seized by Turkish law enforcement  agencies in 1998:

            Hashish trafficking cases discovered since 1991 to date indicate increased number of cases and offenders, as against amounts of hashish seized. In 1998 hashish trafficking in Turkey was more consumption-oriented than other types of drugs.   An assessment of heroin trafficking cases, which occurred since 1994 to date, indicates increased amounts in seizures, numbers of cases and offenders. 65% of the confiscated heroin were found to have been brought in the country from eastern borders. Eight clandestine heroin laboratories have been discovered in 1998 that is an (266%) increase from the year before. Six of them were situated in Istanbul – drug traders began to prefer city centers rather than rural areas. An extremely great increase occurred in cocaine amounts seized during 1998 – 604,669 kg compared with 9,630 kg in 1997. Although Turkey is not on major cocaine trafficking routes of the world, traffickers are also managing efforts to create many diverse routes for themselves. Though there was an increase in morphine base seizures in 1998 when compared with 1997, it might be said recalling high amounts in the previous years that decline trend continued in general. The entire morphine base seized during 1998 was brought in from eastern Turkish borders.  As for acetic acid, the seizure of it increased compared with previous years.  As for ecstasy, there was a (62,5%) increase in the number of cases in 1998 that indicates synthetic tablets to become more popular. 415 foreigners involving in drug cases were seized in Turkey in 1998 – an (152%) increase in comparison with the previous year.

IV.  Bilateral/Multilateral international cooperation

        Turkey signed agreements, protocols, conventions and memoranda of understanding of varying content with 44 countries in field of fight against illicit drug trafficking, 6 of them are the ECO Members (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan). Direct liaison was established with the police units of the countries which Turkey has contacts. By late 1998 Turkey had total (6) Drugs Liaison Officers (DLOs) in foreign countries, as against (19) foreign DLOs of (11) countries stationed in Turkey.  

1.  International agreements signed in 1998:

a)                  The ‘Agreement between Government of Turkish Republic, Government of Bulgarian Republic and Romanian Government on Cooperation in Fight Against Terrorism, Organized Crime, Illicit Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances; Money Laundering; Smuggling of Arms and Humans and Other Major Crimes’ was signed in Antalya on 16.04.1998

b)                  The ‘Agreement between Government of Turkey and Government of India on Mutual Cooperation in Fight against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances’ was signed in Ankara on 17.9.1998.

c)                  The ‘Agreement between Government of Turkish Republic and Government of Italian Republic on Cooperation in Fight against Terrorism, Organized Crime, Illicit Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances; Laundering of Illicit Profits; and Smuggling of Arms and Humans’ was signed on 22.9.1998 in Rome.

d)                  The ‘Agreement between Turkey and Islamic Republic of Iran on Cooperation in Fight against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances’ was signed in Tehran on 10.12.1998.

2.  Training courses organized in 1998:

a)                24.02 – 6.03. DEA of USA organized for Turkish police forces courses on “Countering Money Laundering“, and “Prevention of Trafficking at Airports”.

b)                20.04 – 1.05. Turkish officers offered Albanian police a “Basic Training Course in Fight Against Illicit Drug Trafficking”.

c)                On October 6 two Japanese policemen were given training titled ‘Acitivities of Public Security Police; International Investigation of Illicit Trafficking of Drugs and Firearms Smuggling’.

V.    Treatment and Rehabilitation

            In Turkey, Amatem (Alcohol and substance Addicts Treatment Center) which performs its function of treatment of substance addicts under Istanbul Mental Diseases Hospital is the largest of its kind. The rate of drug abusers among those in-patients was approximately at 41 percent (3069 applicants).

 VI.    Miscellaneous: arrest and seizure data

SOURCES/PUBLICATIONS USED IN PREPARING THIS PROFILE:

 1.      Department of Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime, Directorate General of Security, Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Turkey, “Turkish Drug Report’98”.

2.      Summary Record of the Joint ECO-UNDCP Legal Training Workshop, Tehran, 1-5 March 1999.

3.      UN ODCCP, "Global illicit drug trends", 1999.

4.      INCB, Report 1998.

5.      Interpol, “Heroin Situation in Europe 1998”.

6.      Interpol, “Heroin. The European Scene 1997”.

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