Ankara, May 7 (IANS) Turkish Police have launched a wide-scale operation against drug dealers across the country and detained 363 suspects, Turkey's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Tuesday.

In a nationwide crackdown on local crime syndicates, as well as drug manufacturers and dealers, the "Narcocelik-15" operation was carried out across 52 provinces, including Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and Antalya, Yerlikaya said on social media platform X, without specifying the time of the operation.

The police seized 217 kg of narcotics and more than 1.1 million narcotic pills, he added as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

The operations involved 936 police teams, and a total of 2,340 personnel, along with nine aircraft, and 38 narcotics detection dogs, he added.

"Our fight against drug traffickers and organised crime syndicates, which poison our people, will continue with the unwavering support and prayers of our nation. They cannot escape from us; we are constantly vigilant," Yerlikaya said.

Turkey has long been known as a transit country for narcotics, but the government has stepped up operations against drug gangs since last year.

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