Turkey Seizes 346 Kg of Heroin

Turkish drugs police seized 346 kilos (762 pounds) of heroin in Istanbul as part of a joint operation with the National Intelligence Organization, an official source said Friday.

Authorities found the drugs in a vehicle in the suburb of Silivri after an operation carried out in both Istanbul and Hakkari, an eastern town near the Iranian border.

The authorities suspect the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) of organizing the smuggling of the seized drugs from Iran to Europe, the official told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity.

The authorities arrested 11 people including one Iranian. Two were released after questioning.

Straddling Asia and Europe, Turkey lies on several major smuggling routes and is the main entry point for heroin on the European market.

"The vast majority of heroin in the EU continues to transit through Turkey and is trafficked by Turkish (organized crime groups) from its origin to destination markets," a 2013 Europol report said.

The U.N.'s latest World Drug Report said that seven tonnes of heroin were seized in Turkey in 2011, a significant decline from previous years that the study said owes in part to increased law enforcement activity.

Turkey, which has recently attempted to revive peace talks with the separatist Kurds, has chronically accused the PKK of deriving its funds from narcotics and people smuggling.