Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 11
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
A total of 20,000 tons of heroin were confiscated in Turkey in 2017, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said, Turkish media reported Jan. 11.
This shows that Turkey is facing a great risk and must tighten the fight against drug addiction, he noted.
Soylu added that during 2016, 520 people died from drug overdose in Turkey, and in 2017, the death toll reached 1,020 people.
“The death toll from drug overdose is growing every year,” Soylu said.
On Jan. 9, 2018, a police drug bust resulted in confiscation of some 500 kilograms of drugs. Heroin accounted for 150 kilograms of the total confiscated drugs.
The minimum age of Turkish citizens who started using drugs is 13 years old, the average age – 36 years old, the maximum age - 65 years old.
Thus, 2.9 percent of the country's population account for drug addicts aged 15-24, 2.8 percent - those aged 25-44, 2.3 percent - drug addicts aged 45-64.
Some 18 percent of the total number of people arrested in the country in 2016 accounted for drug dealers.
More than 300,000 people have been detained in Istanbul for using and selling drugs over the past four years.
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