Turkey: 1,600+ suspects held in nationwide operations

By Orhan Onur Gemici

ANKARA

A massive public security operation has seen almost 1,628 people detained across Turkey, the police department said early Saturday.

The operation named ‘Huzur Turkiye - 5' (Peace Turkey) was conducted late Friday simultaneously in strategic areas and public places across 81 provinces, according to a statement from the Security General Directorate.

A total of 71,705 officers from the counter-terrorism, drug and narcotic control, financial crime, organized crime and smuggling teams of the Turkish Police Department along with the Gendarmerie General Command and Coast Guard Command were involved in the operation.

The operation was backed by helicopters and sniffer dogs involved in the raids on suspected businesses and addresses throughout the night.

Police say they stopped and searched over 633,772 people during the operation.

In the raids, over 80 cars were taken off the road, 41 unregistered firearms, 35 hunting rifles and 38 blank-firing guns were also seized, the police added.