Turkish security forces seized a large quantity of heroin, hashish and cannabis plants and detained 12 people in separate anti-drug operations staged across the country Saturday, Xinhua quoted Anadolu news agency as reporting.
In three separate operations in Istanbul, police confiscated 14 kg of heroin and took five people into custody, said the agency.
In another operation, customs teams impounded 52 kg of heroin during road controls at the Kapikule border gate in northwest Turkey's Edirne province and detained five people involved.
In the northern Samsun province, police seized 27.3 kg of hashish and 1,129 cannabis plants, while the owner of the cannabis field and his brother were detained, said the report.
Turkey is a key transit route for smuggling drugs from Asia and the Middle East to markets in western Europe.
In 2008, Turkish security forces waged a total of 15,000 operations against drugs, confiscating more than 15 tons of heroin, 39 tons of hashish and 1.4 million ecstasy pills and arresting 32, 000 suspects, according to the agency.